


I Would Follow You Anywhere

by bugababe



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Detective Chat is on the case, F/M, Identity Reveal, all our lovebirds are 16-17, also we're going to pretend like luka actually has eyelashes ok, au where s2 ep 12 never happened, i have no idea how to tag this but here we go, this is highkey gonna be a crack fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-09-22 14:48:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17061779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bugababe/pseuds/bugababe
Summary: New student Luka Couffaine arrives for his first day of school at Collège Françoise, and he's got eyes for Marinette. A certain blond boy does not approve.





	1. Blue Boy

Early morning sunshine streamed through the tall windows of the classroom, threatening to lull Marinette back to sleep as she pulled out her finished homework from her backpack. Her exhaustion, like most problems in her life, could be traced back to Hawkmoth. The entire week had gone by akuma-free right up until Thursday night when “The Performer” had put on a “show” that took her and Chat Noir four exhausting hours to take care of.

Now it was Friday morning and a very sleep deprived Marinette was mentally giving herself a high-five for not only completing her homework on time, but also for being seated at her desk an entire six minutes before class started. Even Alya wasn’t here yet. Marinette gazed at the empty seat next to her as she thought to herself. Although she was proud to say she accomplished getting to school on time, there still came the task of actually staying awake throughout the rest of the school day. She could do this though, she was determined. She was a superhero. She could do anything she set her mind to! What was staying awake during one measly school day compared to saving Paris?

Even as she thought this however, her eyelids began to drag down, and a blanket of sleep was trying to envelope her. And it would have if not for the head of bright blue hair that made its way into the classroom catching her attention. It brought a tall handsome boy along with it.

Marinette jolted awake as she looked to the boy who had just walked in. A new student? Maybe, he did look about the same age as her class. There was something familiar about him though. She could have sworn she’d seen him before. As the fogginess in her head cleared up a little more, she finally recognized him as last night’s akuma victim. He was The Performer! Except he wasn’t The Performer anymore. Now he was, well, he was somebody. She never got a good chance to look at him last night after she purified the akuma. She had only had one spot on her earring left by the time she had purified the akuma, so she was too caught up in getting away before she involuntarily de-transformed to speak to the akuma victim. Chat had still had a bit more time left than her, so he was one who consoled the victim and briefly talked to the press. Getting a good look at the akuma victim now though, she saw that he actually was tall and handsome, with striking blue eyes, and a strong jawline and- woah she needed to stop right there, she didn’t even know him! She’d already devoted her heart to Adrien and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon. The way looking at him made her stomach feel couldn’t have been a good sign. Whoever this new kid was, Marinette swore to herself right then and there that she wouldn’t get involved with him, unless strictly necessary for school purposes.

A poke on Marinette’s arm startled her from her thoughts, and she turned to see Alya sitting next her. Marinette hadn’t even noticed her enter the classroom. She must have _really_ been tired to miss her energetic best friend’s arrival.

From the corner of her eye she watched the boy she vowed to stay away from walk to the back of the classroom, taking a seat somewhere out of Marinette’s line of vision. But it didn’t matter to her where he sat, because Marinette wasn’t going to get involved.

Another poke on her arm.  

“Hello, Marinette are you in there?”

“Alya!” Marinette said, finally registering the hand waving in front of her face. “Sorry, I’m a little out of it I guess. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

Alya’s face immediately turned into a knowing look that Marinette was all too familiar with. That was the face Alya made whenever she had figured out something and she _knew_ she was right. Which of course immediately caused Marinette to go into a silent panic. There was only one secret she hid from Alya, and that very secret was the exact reason why she was so tired this morning. Oh no had Alya really figured it out? Marinette immediately began running through ways to explain why she had kept this secret a secret from her best friend.

“Let me guess, you stayed up all night thinking about Blue Boy over there?”

Oh thank goodness. Alya was way off, which meant Marinette’s secret was safe. The second half of Alya's sentence suddenly registered to Marinette.

“Blue Boy?” Marinette squeaked.

“I’ve got to say I’m surprised Marinette,” Alya whispered into her ear. Marinette could practically feel the inner reporter sparking from her best friend’s voice. It was really too early in the morning for this. “I thought you only had eyes for Mr. Model.” Alya whispered while waving her hand in the direction of the empty seat in front of Marinette.

“What are you talking about Alya!?” Marinette replied, barely managing to keep her voice level down. “You know I only love Adrien. I don’t even know which boy you’re talking about!” She had a feeling she could guess though. As she spoke, Marinette watched Adrien stroll into the classroom and take his seat in front of her, offering her and Alya a small wave which they both returned. He actually looked rather tired himself. Marinette figured that it made sense since many citizens of Paris stay up late watching all the akuma updates posted on the news and Alya’s blog.

Offhandedly she wondered how tired the new student was, he must be pretty beat after such a long battle yesterday. She turned in her seat just slightly enough so that she could see him sitting in the last row on the right. Upon studying his face for a few seconds, she saw that he actually seemed rather bright and cheery. That was not what she had expected. There was even a hint of a content smile pulling at his lips. Marinette hoped her heart beat wasn't actually as loud as it sounded to her own ears.

When Marinette turned her head back to face Alya, she was met with the full force of her friend’s sharp smirk. “Oh I think you know exactly who I’m talking about.”

“T-the new student?” Marinette asked as innocently as she could, mentally cursing herself for the stutter she let slip out. “I don’t know who he is, I’ve never seen him before in my life.”

“Seriously? Girl when are you gonna finally start reading the Ladyblog!” Alya groaned out while shaking her head. A smile was creeping up on her lips nonetheless.

“I do read the Ladyblog!” Marinette countered. “I was just too busy catching up on homework last night.” Which was true. “I didn’t realize there was another akuma attack.” Which was definitely not true.

“Well then I’ll fill you in girl.” Alya laughed, her smirk finally gone. “His name is Luka Couffaine and he was akumatized last night.”

Marinette faked the most realistic gasp she could muster. “No way! Really? Him?” She briefly pointed her thumb in back of her without turning her head.

“Yeah, him. He fought Ladybug and Chat Noir for an entire four hours! Isn’t that crazy? Here I’ll show you.” Alya spurred into her fangirl mode, which was a breath of relief for Marinette. It meant that she could let her friend do all the talking. While she herself was a superhero, she was not an actor. When the topic of Ladybug came up, needing to watch every single word that came out of her mouth proved to be difficult sometimes.

She watched as Alya proceeded to scroll through her phone at lightning speed, probably motivated by the fact that there was only about a minute left before class started. A video appeared on Alya’s phone screen, and Alya immediately set her phone on the desk in front of Marinette. The time bar read that it was only 40 seconds long. Marinette could do this. She just had to remember to look surprised rather than proud whenever Ladybug did something cool. The video flashed through different clips of Ladybug and Chat Noir fighting The Performer, as well as Ladybug curing the boy with her Lucky Charm. Marinette, of course, already knew exactly what went down yesterday. Some of her surprise was still genuine though. It was always interesting to see her and her partner from different angles, to see themselves how the rest of the world saw them. However, the fact still remained that she wasn’t actually taking in any new information besides the guy’s name. She hated having to lie to her best friend, but in the end it was for the greater good.

Marinette watched as the last clip faded out before responding to Alya. “Wow I had no idea,” She really hoped her voice sounded as genuine as she needed it to sound. “That looks like it must have been intense.”

“It totally was girl,” Alya said, seeming to buy Marinette’s cover. Phew. “It’s a shame they had to fight him though because that boy is good looking. If I wasn’t already with Nino I might-”

“Hey I can hear you, you know,” Nino said while turning around in his seat to face the girls. He must have come into the classroom while Marinette was watching the video.

Alya couldn’t contain her laughter, but still somehow managed to speak through her giggles. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding, you know you’re the only for me babe.” Nino rolled his eyes but still smiled at his girlfriend.

At that moment Ms. Bustier walked into the classroom, so Alya quited her laughter and hid her phone on her lap under their desk. Marinette chuckled to herself at that. There really was no parting Alya from her phone. With that thought she turned to face forward in her seat, ready to listen to their teacher start the class.

“Good morning everyone,” Ms. Bustier said with a smile that always lightened Marinette’s mood despite the dread of having to be at school in the early hours of the morning. “Today is a special day. We have a new student joining us! Luka why don’t you come on down to the front and introduce yourself.”  

“Of course,” A deep voice called out from behind Marinette. Her stomach twisted again.

She turned in her seat to watch as Luka made his way down the steps, flashing a picture perfect smile to the class. When he reached the front of classroom, he turned around to face everyone and waved. “Hi I’m Luka. I’m Juleka’s brother but this is actually my first time attending a public school. Up until now I’ve been homeschooled, and I’m very excited to meet everyone.” He used to be homeschooled? That’s just like Adrien. “I also play electric guitar and hope to be in a band one day.” That was definitely not like Adrien. And it was cool. Attractive almost. Marinette really needed to stop thinking like this or she’d need to visit the school nurse for a stomach ache. She shouldn’t even be comparing this guy, Luka, to her beloved Adrien! She would never forgive herself for betraying her one true love, even if the betrayal was only in her own head. She reminded herself again, don’t get involved.

“Thank you Luka that was a wonderful introduction.” Mrs Bustier said, patting Luka lightly on the shoulder. “Why don’t you head back to your seat and we can start your first day of school.”

Marinette’s eyes trailed Luka has he flashed another smile to everyone and walked back up the steps, disappearing from her line of sight yet again. The rest of class went by with Marinette managing to stay focused surprisingly well despite her lack of sleep, her thoughts only wavering to Luka a few times. Well maybe it was more than a few times but Marinette would never admit that, even to herself. She had vowed not to get involved, no matter how pretty he might be.

The lunch bell finally rang and Marinette and Alya walked out of the classroom together making plans for their usual Friday night sleepover. After lunch, the rest of Marinette’s classes went by in a blur of droopy eyes and bitter coffee. By the end of the school day Marinette had almost completely forgotten about Luka, her mind occupied instead with deciding what movie she and Alya should watch that night. While she was heading back to her locker to get the last of her belongings, she pulled out her phone to text Alya her movie ideas. But she never  got as far as unlocking it.

The hand that tapped Marinette on the shoulder startled her so badly that she jumped and dropped her phone. Her eyes squeezed shut as she prepared to hear the inevitable crack of her screen shattering against the ground, but she heard a voice instead. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” The deep smooth voice was vaguely familiar.

Marinette opened her eyes to find Luka standing before her, holding her un-cracked phone. He must have managed to catch it before it hit the ground then, he was a life saver.

“Oh no d-don’t worry, it’s fine,” Marinette said, unable to help the light blush that rose to her cheeks. “Thank you for saving my phone, you’re so fast! I mean, uh, y-you moved so quickly. Thank you!” Luka laughed softly at that, and Marinette knew her cheeks were utterly betraying her vow from earlier.

“Any time Marinette,” Luke replied smoothly. He already knew her name? But she’d never even spoken to him yet! Why did he already know her name!? “Hey so, I was wondering, I don’t have too many friends yet, but I want to get to know you. Your classmates say nothing but wonderful things about you, and I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me tonight? To dinner and a movie, your pick of course.”

Go out. Luka wanted to go out. With Marinette. On a real date. To dinner and a movie. Tall, handsome, all-jawline, Blue Boy Luka. It was times like these when Marinette wondered if she was really even a superhero at all with the way her brain was sputtering.

“G-go out? With you? T-tonight?” Marinette stuttered out. Well at least she was able to use coherent words. But really, a date with Luka? Marinette really didn’t want to betray her devotion to Adrien, but standing face to face with Luka, her mind was quickly turning to mush. Besides, it honestly wasn’t like Adrien was going to ask her out any time soon, Marinette had come to terms with that long ago. Maybe it was time to branch out a little. One date with another boy wouldn’t hurt, would it? She hoped not.

“That sounds great,” she finally replied, knowing there was no hope anymore in stopping the deep flush spreading above her growing smile.

“Awesome! Can I pick you up at 7?” Luka replied, his own smile lighting up his face.

“Yes that’s perfect,” Marinette said. She didn’t know how her knees were still holding her up.

“Alright it’s a date. I’ll text you?” Luka asked as he handed Marinette’s phone back to her. Marinette had forgotten that he still had it.

“But you don’t have my phone number,” Marinette replied, starting to unlock her phone so she could enter a new contact.

“No, but you have mine,” Luka said as he pointed to Marinette’s phone. “Check your contacts.”

Marinette looked through her contacts and sure enough, Luka’s number was already there. God he was smooth. How was she ever going to survive an entire date without becoming a total stuttering idiot. She’d cross that bridge when she got to it.

“I’ve got to run right now, but I’ll see you to tonight. I can’t wait. Goodbye for now, Marinette.” Luka said, waving as he started to make his way out of the locker room.

“Y-yeah, see you later!” Marinette called out, waving a bit more enthusiastically than was probably necessary considering she would be seeing him again in just a few hours. She watched his back as he walked out the door, before turning to her locker to let out a huge breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding.

 

~~~

 

Adrien remained frozen in the locker room, just two rows away from where Luka was talking to Marinette. He hadn’t intended to eavesdrop, but once he realized that Luka was actually asking Marinette out on a date he couldn’t focus on anything else. When he had heard Marinette accept his invitation, he felt his chest grow uncomfortably heavy.

Something about Luka seemed off. There was no way this could end well for Marinette, Luka would probably try and pull something. He didn’t exactly understand why this was such a big deal to him, but he knew that it was. Adrien was not about to let something bad happen to the nicest girl in school.

He dared to try and take a peek around the row of lockers he was currently hiding behind, and he watched just in time as Luka walked away waving farewell to Marinette. She waved back. Plagg snickered from Adrien’s shirt collar.

"Plagg be quiet,” Adrien harshly whispered, turning his head down towards the kwami. “We have to go find Alya.”

“Aren’t you going to talk to Marinette?” Plagg asked teasingly, clearly not making any effort to keep his voice down.

“Alya is Marinette’s best friend though, she can help put a stop to this.” Adrien continued, turning back so he was once again shielded by the tall lockers.

“Put a stop to their stop to their date? Don’t tell me your jealous, I can’t wait to hear what Ladybug says when you tell her you have a crush on a civilian.” Plagg laughed loudly, though he stayed out of sight.

“I’m not jealous, now be quiet. Really. We’re finding Alya.” Adrien kept his tone final as he lifted his school bag back onto his shoulder, determined to find the famous Ladyblogger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooooookay so this is my first fic ever, so if you've made it this far then I'm sorry for putting u thru this. I don't currently have a beta so if there are any mistakes I apologize. This is all one wild ride so if u by some magical chance want more then stay tuned, I plan to post the next chapter by Friday, maybe sooner. I have this whole adventure planned out so once I've got a good chunk more actually written then I can see about making some sort of schedule. It shouldn't be too long overall but,,,,,, we'll see. Thank u so much for reading !


	2. 12 Rue Gotlib

_“I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me tonight?”_

The same simple question kept playing over and over again like a stuck record in Marinette’s head. She was almost convinced that she had entirely daydreamed her conversation with Luka, her daydreams being the only place where that question had ever been asked to her before. Except for when she was with her black-tailed crime-fighting partner of course, but that was just part of his personality. Chat never actually meant it to be taken seriously.

Unlocking her phone, Marinette opened her contact list for about the 12th time on her short walk home. The newest entry seemed to glow against the rest of the names on the list. Looking directly at the new name on her screen was practically the only thing convincing her that the conversation was in fact real. Which meant that her date tonight was also in fact, very real.

Bells jingled as the young black-haired girl opened the door to her family’s bakery. Many people filled the small store, all wanting to enjoy their Friday afternoon with the best pastries Paris had to offer.

With one quick glance around Marinette spotted her father serving customers behind the counter in the back, and her mother tapping away quickly on the cash register.

“Mamá, Papá, I’m home from school!” Marinette called out, waving her hand up high over the crowd. Both her parents paused from their work for a moment to wave back.

“There’s some snacks for you upstairs on the kitchen table sweetie,” her mother replied once Marinette got closer to her.

“Thanks mom you’re the best,” Marinette replied back. She started up the stairs to their apartment away from the bustling crowd, her thoughts already trailing back to the blue-haired boy who she had spoken to only minutes prior.

As soon as the front door of the apartment was pushed open, a little red bug zipped out from the purse hanging on Marinette’s shoulder making a beeline for the snacks waiting for the two of them in the kitchen. Marinette’s mother had only intended for the plate of fresh-baked macarons to be for her daughter, but what Marinette’s mother didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. In fact what Marinette’s mother didn’t know, even saved Paris.

“These are delicious!” Tikki exclaimed, eating almost an entire macaron in one bite. This was rather impressive to Marinette, considering how tiny her kwami really was. She let out a giggle when she heard the small creature voice her content through a full mouth. Marinette followed her little friend and took a seat at the table to enjoy the after school snack as well.

“Raspberry is my favorite,” Tikki said contently. The kwami sat on the table next to the plate, already reaching for a second cookie.

“Mine too.” Marinette responded, reaching for one as well.

The two companions sat in a relaxed silence as they ate the rest of their snack, each lost in their own train of thoughts.

It didn’t take very long for Marinette’s thoughts to divert from the topic of cookies. Before she knew it, she was right back to thinking about the pair of bright blue eyes that had asked her to dinner. And a movie. Which put together would be about three whole hours of time spent alone with a boy. A cute boy. She didn’t know how many minutes were in three hours but she knew there were way too many.

All she needed was one little minute to accidentally ruin everything.

There was no way she could be with him for so long without making a fool of herself one way or another. What if she forgets how to read when the waiter hands her the menu? What if she forgets his name and calls him Adrien by mistake? What if she forgets her own name? What if she accidentally refers to herself as Ladybug? Just about the only thing she could hold on to was the fact that it wasn’t actually Adrien she was going out with. As long as it wasn’t him, she still at least had a chance of forming full sentences.

Marinette’s thoughts still raced endlessly around in her head when she and her kwami finished their snack and headed up the small set of stairs leading to her room. Once they were inside, the she mindlessly set her backpack down beside her desk and belly-flopped down onto her chaise.

The sound of the trap door clicking shut was what finally snapped Marinette out of her thoughts. She must have forgotten to close the door herself.

“Oh, thanks Tikki. What would I do without you?” Marinette asked, turning to lay on her back as she watched the little red kwami fly about her room.

“Marinette,” Tikki giggled, flying up to Marinette’s face, “haven’t you forgotten something?”

From her position on the chaise Marinette glanced around the room. Her eyes scanned for anything she might have left behind at the school. Not noticing anything seemingly missing, she turned back to her kwami.

“I don’t think so, why?” she responded.

“Isn’t there something else you were supposed to do tonight? Something not involving _Luka?_ ”  Tikki asked. Her teasing tone was all too knowing.

The high schooler pondered for a moment.

“Something else? What do you- Oh no Alya!” Marinette cried out.

The sleepover she had planned with Alya earlier during lunch hadn’t even crossed her mind once Luka had started talking to her. Not that she would have been able to think about much else anyways during her conversation with him. She groaned, covering her face with her hands.

“I can’t believe I forgot about that,” she sighed through her fingers. “This is a disaster Tikki.”

“I think you’re going to have to cancel with one of them,” Tikki spoke up again, flying in front of her partner’s face which still remained hidden. “You can’t be with both of them at the same time.”

Marinette rubbed the palms of her hands into her eyes and sighed. Tikki was right, she couldn’t be here with Alya and at the movies with Luka at the same time. Although, maybe she didn’t have to cancel either of them. If there was anything Marinette was good at, it was balancing a busy schedule. She just needed to text Alya and push back their sleepover till around 11:00pm. It would be a sort of late start their sleepover, but they could make up for it by staying up, watching their favorite movies, and gossiping about the Ladyblog.

“I’ll text Alya to let her know not to come over until 11 o’clock, that way I can keep both plans tonight and I don’t have to cancel on anyone,” Marinette said to her kwami.

“That sounds great Marinette!” Tikki assured, flying up to nuzzle against Marinette’s cheek. “Are you by any chance going to bring up some more cookies from the bakery for your sleepover tonight?”

This made Marinette burst out in laughter as she began to type her text to Alya.

“Of course Tikki, I’ll even bring a whole secret plate just for you” the young superhero answered, sending off her text while she spoke.

 

**To: Alya 🦄😎**

**I’m rly sorry but I need to push our sleepover out until 11 tonight, Luka the new boy at school asked me out on a date tonight! 😍 I’ll tell you everything when u come over, I promise!**

 

It only took a few seconds for Marinette’s phone to buzz with a new message.

 

_From: Alya🦄😎_

_That’s okay girl! I still expect allllll the deets tonight tho ;)_

 

Marinette breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Alya wasn’t upset with her for altering their plans. She really did have the best friend in the world. Alya never held a grudge against her for always needing to change plans last minute, despite not even knowing that it was almost always to accommodate for her secret superhero life. Marinette couldn’t ask for anyone better.

“Alya says she’s okay with coming over later,” she spoke up to her kwami. “Now I can get ready for tonight!”

She sat up on the chaise and stretched her arms out.

“Marinette aren’t you forgetting something, again?” Tikki giggled, flying to the phone Marinette had left resting beside her.

Marinette responded with a face of confusion.

“You have Luka’s phone number,” Tikki continued knowing her partner was at a loss for an answer, even without her voicing it, “but he doesn’t have yours. He still needs to know your address so he can come pick you up!”

Tikki lifted the phone, waving it as she went to hover in front of Marinette’s face.

“But that would mean,” Marinette started, realization hitting her like a train, “that would mean I have to text him!”

Suddenly her stomach felt like it was twisting again.

“I can’t text him! What would I even say!? I’m not brave enough! Tikki this really is a disaster!”

Flopping on her chaise face-down once again, she folded her arms so she could bury her head.

In general, texting was a lot easier than talking for Marinette when it came to cute boys. Of course, there was only really one cute boy she had ever texted. She didn’t text Adrien often, usually only when they had a project together in school or when their whole friend group was making plans to hang out, but during those times everything had gone pretty smoothly if she did say so herself. The extra time she had to think about what she wanted to say was just what she needed to not make a fool of herself. It was impossible to stutter and trip over her words if she was typing them. Although, if anyone could somehow manage to anyways, she was sure she would be the one to do it.

Unfortunately, her current situation was not as simple as just asking to borrow notes for a school project. Now she was stuck needing to send the first text, with the knowledge that the recipient of said text was interested in her. As in, _interested in her._ There was just no way she could do that without her cheeks actually catching on fire or her heart beating right out of her chest.

She found herself thinking back to the fact that at least it wasn’t Adrien. Then again, despite it being absolutely terrifying to text Adrien, he was never interested in her. Not like this. The idea of texting Luka seemed impossible.

Suddenly she felt a tiny bump against her shoulder, though she made no effort to lift her head. The world didn’t need to see her pouting face.

“Come on Marinette, it’s easy,” Tikki encouraged. “Just type your address and sign it with your name!”

Despite Marinette’s resistance, Tikki’s enthusiasm never wavered. That was one of the many things Marinette loved about Tikki, especially when it came to the hardships of her superhero life. Even though she was only currently dealing with typical teenage boy drama and not evil supervillain drama, she welcomed Tikki’s kind voice.

Slowly, Marinette lifted her head from her hands.

“If you say so Tikki,” the girl wearily replied. Reaching out, she gave a weak smile as the little kwami placed her phone in her hand. She took a deep breath.

 

**To: Luka Couffaine**

**12 Rue Gotlib, 21st arrondissement**

**-Marinette**

 

The message was short and simple, though the send button still remained unpressed.

“Tikki I can’t do it, you do it,” Marinette rushed out. She held out her phone to the kwami with one hand. Her other hand came up to cover eyes.

“Marinette,” Tikki replied, trying to keep her giggles down as to not embarrass her friend further.

“Just do it!” Marinette said, exasperated. The fingers of the hand covering her face parted slightly, just enough so that she could peek through to see if Tikki would actually press the button for her. She watched her small companion as she laughed and flew up to her phone, giving it a quick tap.

“Done!” Tikki exclaimed. The tiny red creature flashed a bright smile to her friend, probably hoping to ease some of her stress, Marinette assumed.

“Thanks Tikki, you really are the best,” Marinette said. A smile had begun creeping up on her own face as well. The kwami’s radiant positivity was contagious.

“I know,” Tikki replied, this time not trying to hide her giggles.

The phone still in Marinette’s hand buzzed, catching her off guard. She let out a yelp when she registered the name attached to the text.

 

_From: Luka Couffaine_

_I’ll see you tonight Marinette :)_

 

She couldn’t move. She couldn’t think. That smiley face may actually be her cause of death. After what must have been a full minute but felt like a lifetime, she finally noticed her kwami tapping on her cheek. Breathe, she had to breathe.

“Marinette come on, we have to get you ready! We still have two hours before Luka gets here,” Tikki said excitedly.

The high school girl stood up to walk to her closet, her mind already racing with outfit ideas. She paused after she had only taken a few steps though. She stared at her wall. Her collection of Adrien pictures stared back. The knots in her stomach tightened ever so slightly.

Sighing, she turned away and continued heading towards her closet, calling out to her kwami for a second opinion on her outfit ideas.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyoo!! this chapter is on the short side so i apologize, i'm working crazy hours during the holidays so idk why i thought it would be a good idea to start this fic when im such a busy bee but here we are anyways !  
> Also I know our favorite cat was not in this chapter but do not fret, he will be making his next appearance soon ;)  
>   
> Thanks for reading!!!!


	3. Step One

In the locker room of Collège Françoise, young fashion model Adrien Agreste peeked out from the row of lockers he was hiding behind and watched as his black-haired classmate walked out through the entryway.

He needed to move quickly, but he also needed to make sure that he wasn’t spotted by the girl he had just seen leave.

The mission was simple. Step one: Find Alya. Step two: Stop Marinette’s “date” with Luka.

There was a bit of a grey area in his plan between step one and step two but he could work out the kinks as he got to them. Out of all the plans he’s ever had, this was definitely one of the easier ones.

Despite knowing that though, he couldn’t help the nagging feeling that he needed to get this over with and fix everything as soon as possible.

Adrien crept up beside the doorway of the locker room and peered out, trying to see if he could locate Marinette or her best friend. He didn’t spot either of them. He’d overheard them part ways during their last class so he assumed that they wouldn’t be meeting up again after school, on campus at least. If by any chance Alya was still at school, then Marinette wouldn’t be with her which was in Adrien’s favor. He needed to talk to Alya alone.

Pulling out his phone, he sent a quick text to his bodyguard letting him know that he was going to be at school for a little while longer than usual working on a project, choosing not to clarify exactly what type of project he would be working on.

With his school bag on his shoulder and his kwami hidden in the folded collar of his shirt, Adrien made his way out of the locker room and into the main courtyard of the school. The blogger he was looking for wasn’t here, but that didn’t necessarily mean she had left for the day. It wasn’t unusual for some students to stay behind on Friday’s and finish up their homework so they could have a free weekend.

“Why don’t you just call her,” a small piercing voice rang out.

“I don’t want to unless I have to Plagg,” Adrien replied in a whisper, “I’d rather speak with her face to face. This is an urgent situation.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” the hidden kwami replied. Adrien didn’t have to see his kwami roll his eyes to know that he did.

Making his way into the school library, the young superhero thought over what he exactly he wanted to say as he scanned the area for the energetic Ladyblogger.

It didn’t seem like the best idea to just walk up and say _“Hey Marinette’s going on a date with Luka tonight and I need you to stop it.”_ Or maybe that wouldn’t be so bad? No, he had to be polite and express his concerns. Keep to the facts.

“Hey Adrien!” a voice called out in a loud whisper as Adrien reached the second floor of the library. He looked to his left where the voice came from, and saw just the person he was looking for. She was sitting by herself at one of the big tables with her notebooks and tablet spread out in front of her.

“Hey Alya, what’s up?” the blond boy greeted.

“Oh not much, I’m just finishing up my history assignments before I head over to Marinette’s for the evening,” the young reporter answered, waving a hand across the array of papers in front of her.

“Wait you’re going to Marinette’s house?” Adrien asked, his eyebrows knitting together. “Today?”

That didn’t make any sense. Marinette wouldn’t accept an invitation to a date if she already had plans. There was something more going on here, and though it wasn’t technically his business, Adrien was determined to get to the bottom of it.

“Yeah, we’re having a sleepover tonight,” Alya answered. Her eyes narrowed. “Why do you ask?”

Adrien could practically feel Alya’s gaze as she looked him up and down. It was like she was a reporter analyzing her suspect, and although she actually was a reporter, Adrien didn’t like the feeling that came with suddenly becoming the suspect.  

Subconsciously he gripped the chair in front of him with his left hand while his right came up to scratch the back of his head.

“Well you see,” Adrien started, “there was actually something I wanted to talk to you about.” His voice came out much higher than he intended.

Alya raised her eyebrows at him, signaling him to go on.

“Well uh,” Adrien started, but then paused to cleared his throat. “Well it’s about Marinette. She’s-”

The sharp sound of a phone vibrating against the table cut him off.

“Sorry, hold that thought” the young journalist cut in.

The blond high schooler watched as she picked up her phone. Her face seemed to fall a little as she read what he assumed was a text. She didn’t seem too upset though. It only took her a moment to type a reply before she set her phone back down on the table and looked up to Adrien again.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt you,” Alya said, her eyes no longer seemingly trying to analyze his every move. “What was it you wanted to say about Marinette?”

“Marinette, right,” Adrien began again. He needed to sound more confident, this wasn’t like him. Putting his shoulders back, he stood up straighter and brought his arms flat against his sides.

“Marinette is going on a date with Luka tonight and I think we should put a stop to it.”

It was not his intention to squeeze the entire sentence out in one breath, but his voice did not appear to be cooperating with his wishes today.

He gulped when he saw the sharpness return to Alya’s journalist eyes. A smile was creeping up on her lips that made Adrien uncomfortable, though he couldn’t put into words exactly why. He had nothing to hide. Maybe this was a bad idea.

“How did you know that Marinette had a date with Luka?” the high school girl asked. Her smirk was growing.

Adrien had seen her wear that expression before. Correction, _Chat Noir_ had seen her wear that expression before. She looked like she did whenever she managed to get some information out of him from his superhero self. He never actually slipped up and gave away any real personal information as Chat, but to her, any new information on the superhero was a huge deal.

Right now though he was just Adrien, not the protector of Paris. He couldn’t fathom what lead she thought she had on him just from him knowing of Marinette’s plans for the evening.

He realized he had been silent for too long when Alya started to reach for her phone again.

“Marinette she, um, she told me. That’s how I know,” Adrien said quickly. It wasn’t his best lie, but it was still believable. He hoped.

“She did?” Alya questioned, looking surprised. “She didn’t even tell me until just now, in that text she sent me a minute ago. She also pushed our sleepover out until way later tonight.” The blogger held up her phone in emphasis.

“Yes she told me a few minutes ago, and I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Adrien replied.

Lying was not something he was very fond of doing, superhero moral code and all, but he couldn’t exactly tell Alya that he had eavesdropped on Marinette’s entire conversation earlier. That would make him look, as Plagg had put it so kindly before, jealous. And Adrien was not jealous. He was simply protecting Marinette and that’s all there was too it. After all, his heart belonged solely to his Lady.

“Aren’t you proud of Marinette for getting a date though?” The young reporter across the table questioned.  

“Well of course I’m happy for her!” Adrien blurted out, “But, not if it’s with _Luka._ That guys rubs me the wrong way. Not to mention he was akumatized last night. _”_

“Adrien half the city has been akumatized,” Alya laughed.

The young superhero did not understand why she was laughing exactly, but still he acknowledged that what she said was true.

“I know, I know,” Adrien sighed. “I just, I don’t want Marinette to get hurt if he does something stupid.”

“Wow you seem to be really concerned over Marinette,” Alya commented, sobering up her laughter. Her gaze shifted into something more resolved, as if she had finally found the key piece of information she was looking for.

“I guess you could, um, put it that way,” Adrien replied. He hoped the heat he felt in his cheeks wasn’t too visible. He didn’t want Alya to get the wrong idea.

“As much as I care about her well being too, I don’t think there’s much I can do to stop her from going on that date,” Alya said. “Marinette can be stubborn when she wants to, and she knows how to stand up for herself. If she didn’t actually want to go out with him, then she wouldn’t. We should trust that she can handle him herself.”

Adrien took a moment to think over her words. It was true that Marinette could be stubborn and fearless at times. She was usually a bit clumsy, but whenever she set her mind to something she stuck through proudly until the end. That was part of what made her a fantastic class rep, and a great friend overall.  

When he thought of her setting her mind to Luka though, he didn’t at all like the idea of watching her stick through until the end. What would even be the end in that case? The two of them going on more dates? Becoming “official”? Falling in love? All terrible ideas when someone as amazing as Marinette could do so much better than some guitar playing akuma victim.

Adrien thought back to what Alya had said about Marinette being able to handle herself. He didn’t doubt at all that she could, but perhaps a little backup wouldn’t hurt her. It was clear though that Alya was not going to help him in his mission to aid Marinette, and he didn’t want to push.

“Yeah you’re right, I understand,” Adrien said.

“Of course I am” the reporter replied, letting out a chuckle. “Now if you don’t mind I’ve got some homework to get back to so I can be free later tonight to interrogate our favorite black-haired beauty,” Alya winked, “for details.”

“Right, of course,” Adrien said. “Thanks for your time, I’ll see you later.”

The blond high schooler smiled and waved as he walked back to the stairs he had come up from a few minutes before.

He only made it three steps down before he heard a snide voice speak quietly near his ear.

“I knew you were jealous but wow you’ve got it bad,” the hidden kwami teased.

“Plagg I already told you it’s not like that!” Adrien said, exasperated. Once he reached the bottom of the staircase he quickly walked out of the library and back into the courtyard of the school. The area was now vacant, making it less stressful to speak to his small companion despite still being in public. “Look we just need to get home so we can figure out what to do next.”

“I thought you just told Alya that you would leave Marinette to handle it herself,” Plagg replied.

“Well I didn’t say that _exactly_ ,” Adrien said while he pulled out his phone to text his bodyguard that he was ready to be picked up.

“Oh do I smell a plan forming?” the kwami inquired.

“Sort of,” Adrien replied.

The two of them left to wait out by the front of the school for Adrien’s bodyguard.

“Hey if you want any help from me, then you know the cheesy price my friend,” the mischievous creature said as he snuck back out of view once again beneath the blond’s shirt collar.

The car to take them both home pulled up before Adrien could retort to his snarky companion’s bargain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The holidays have been keeping me busy, but here is the next chapter!!  
> As always, thanks for reading!!!


	4. Echoes

The light sound of bouncing springs echoed throughout the large room of the Agreste manor as Adrien sat himself down atop his bed with his legs crossed and his head resting against the wall.

Usually he would be at fencing practice at this time of day since the practices were always held on Fridays after school, but this week it had been canceled. In fact, there was not a single one of his normal duties that he had to attend to this afternoon. He’d finished all his homework earlier during the lunch period, he had no photoshoots scheduled, and his routine patrol with Ladybug wasn't until tomorrow evening.

He could almost go so far as to call it fate that his schedule had become so free on this day in particular. Maybe Ladybug’s luck was spreading to him.

That thought made more heat rise to his cheeks than he considered necessary.

Right now though, he had to focus. For Marinette to go on that date alone with Luka was a bad idea, but he couldn’t just tell her to cancel her plans. Alya had made a fair point when she said that if Marinette didn’t actually want to go then she wouldn’t. But still, Adrien wanted to be there if anything went wrong. He didn’t want Marinette to end up sad or to be left all by herself.

The pressure in his chest he felt earlier in the locker room returned to him when he thought about Marinette coming home from her date with her heart broken.

Adrien was the savior of Paris. The savior of the City of Love. He refused to call himself a true hero if he couldn’t even save one heart.

“So what’s the plan big man,” a garbled voice rang out.

Adrien spotted his kwami across the room just in time to watch him devour the last contents of a camembert box that was bigger than the little creature’s entire body. Figures.

“It’s simple,” Adrien replied, “we just need to stay in the background of Marinette’s date so that we can step in if Luka tries anything, you know,” he waved his hands around in the air as he tried to think of the right word. “Anything douchey.”

“So your plan is to just follow them around?” the kwami questioned. “Isn’t that kinda creepy?”

Adrien stood up from his spot on the bed, stretching his arms out as he felt a new wave of energy come over him. “Not at all because I’m going as a _friend_ to _help_.”

The small kwami cackled. “What are you going to do, hide behind a plant until you can have your shining moment?”

The blond boy began walking towards the tall windows of his room. “Don’t be silly Plagg, I’ll be hanging out with Alya. We’ll just have to stay out of Marinette’s view, she won’t even know we’re there.”

“Um, hello, did you already forget what Alya told you?” the kwami asked, bewildered. The small cat-like creature then flew up to wave his arms in front of his large companion’s face. “Alya already said that she wasn’t interested in coming with you.”

“She said she wasn’t interested in going with _Adrien_ ,” the blond boy corrected.

Holding his right hand up to the window, he watched as the afternoon sun seemed to make his ring sparkle.

“Though I may know of a certain cat that might be able to change her mind.”

 

~~~

 

Strong gusts of wind shook through a head of messy hair as a lean figure clad in black raced across the rooftops of his city.

When the familiar balcony above the Dupain-Chengs’ bakery came into view, Chat Noir slowed down his pace, finally coming to a stop when he arrived on a rooftop just across the street from his classmate’s balcony.

It was currently only 6:50pm so, according to what Luka had said in the locker room, he still had another ten minutes to wait before the guy would be arriving to pick up Marinette. Chat thought he looked like someone that might not even bother to show up on time. Yet another reason in his book why Luka was just not good enough for a girl as wonderful as Marinette.

Now Chat would be stuck out here for who knows how long before he could actually figure out where the two were headed for their date. He just needed to know what their destination was. Then he could go get Alya to join him, hopefully even before the two arrived at wherever dumb place Luka would take her.

This guy was seriously turning out to be a pain, Chat didn’t know what Marinette possibly saw in him.

It was 7:01pm when a head of blue hair came into view approaching the bakery below. So maybe he wasn’t exceptionally late, but still late was late.

Chat crouched a little bit lower on the edge of the roof he was peering off of.

If it were him, if it were Adrien knocking on the Dupain-Chengs’ door with the intention of taking their beloved daughter out for a romantic evening, he certainly would not let an entire sixty seconds of their time go to waste.

Muffled voices wafted up to his ears as second head of hair exited the bakery. The perched superhero had expected to see the girl below sporting her usual pigtails, but tonight it appeared as though she had chosen to wear her hair down instead.

Chat felt like an akuma had just hit him with a ton of bricks.

It had never occurred to him before that he had never actually seen her with her hair down. He’d seen her wear buns, braids, ponytails, and basically every other casual style that he could name off the top of his head. But he’d never seen it just, down.

Now that he had though, a part of his mind wished that she would always wear it like this. The way it lightly bounced off her shoulders when she walked, was unbelievably cute. Objectively speaking, of course.

Another part of his mind, a part he tried his best not focus on, was rather annoyed with Luka for getting the first up-close and personal view.

Focus, he needed to focus. He still didn’t know where Luka planned to take her.

For any normal person, making out the words spoken on the street below was basically impossible. However, Chat’s cat ears weren’t only there to add to his charm. With the abilities Plagg enhanced him with, he should be able to clearly hear the pair’s conversation from all the way up here as long as he concentrated hard enough.

He closed his eyes. He took a breath. He listened.

_“W-we’re going to that restaurant?”_

_“Yeah I made reservations for us, I hope you don’t mind.”_

Still closed, Chat’s eyes scrunched as smacked his forehead with one hand.

He’d already missed them say the name of the restaurant because he was too preoccupied thinking about how gorgeous her hair was. Just his luck. Or, un-luck. Anti-luck? Whatever it was called, it was Plagg’s fault.

Mentally crossing his fingers, he hoped one of them would repeat the name so that he could go retrieve Alya and arrive wherever it was before they did. He wanted to get this night over with as efficiently as possible.

_“Is that a problem? We can always go somewhere else if you like.”_

_“N-no, it’s um, it’s fine. Let’s go.”_

It didn’t sound fine.

_“Are you sure Marinette?”_

_“Yes, the Grand Paris is fine. A-Alya’s mom is actually a chef there, her food is always phenomenal!”_

It took every ounce of control in his body for Chat not to jump down there and smack some sense into the boy himself. What was he thinking taking Marinette to the restaurant in the hotel that Chloe’s fathered owned!? That meant Chloe would most likely be there!

Although Chloe was his own friend, anyone with a brain knew that the two girls, to put it kindly, did not see eye to eye.

What troubled the crouched superhero even more so, was that Marinette had insisted that they still go. It was clear as day that she did not actually like the idea one bit. Chat was not exceptionally close with Marinette, as a superhero or as a civilian, but he certainly knew her well enough to distinguish her mannerisms. Especially, when she was nervous.

Even from up high and in the dimming light, he could see her clinging to her skirt with one hand while her other hand scratched the back of her head. Not to mention had been stuttering when she spoke.

Now that he thought about it though, stuttering was actually pretty normal for Marinette. Particularly when it came to casual conversation. But he had also seen many times when she had spoken with a clear and strong voice. There was something about her when she spoke that way that seemed to mesmerize him. He didn’t know exactly how to put that feeling into words, but if he tried, he might say that it made him proud to see her confidence shine.

Or maybe that it just made him happy. A bit like being around Ladybug made him feel. Of course, how he felt towards Ladybug was very, very different than how he felt towards the girl he was currently trying to save.

Down below, the two heads of hair he was watching shuffled towards a car parked just a few spaces down the street. The taller figure opened the door on the passenger’s side and held it out while the smaller figure stepped inside.

The sight made Chat sick to his stomach. How he was ever going to last an entire evening of this was beyond him. Still, he knew that he had to pull through for Marinette. This was all to save Marinette.

Her name sounded throughout his head like a mantra.

Luckily for him, he would be getting a short break from having to watch the nauseatingly annoying blue-haired boy. Now that he knew the two would be dining at the hotel, he could go get Alya. The hotel wasn’t actually that far. He didn’t have much time if he wanted to arrive with Alya before they did.

With a running leap and a quick extension of his staff, the previously perched superhero was now but a dark blur against the twilight sky.

 

~~~

 

Through the window of a tall apartment building, Chat Noir could see his best friend’s girlfriend typing rapidly on her computer. Although he couldn’t see the screen from his current position, he had no doubt that she was working on her latest update for the Ladyblog.

He made a mental note to remind her that whatever happened tonight was off limits for the blog.

Perhaps choosing the one person obsessed with his superhero identity more than anyone else, was not the best idea for this mission. Then again, Alya was Marinette’s best friend and this mission was about her, not him. There was also no time left to ask anyone else to help him.

A sharp rattle echoed when he knocked on the window.

Immediately he saw Alya look up from her desktop computer. Though the light was dim in her room, he was still able to perfectly see as her expression shifted from confusion to shock. Then to glee. Night vision was a blessing and a curse.

It only took her three seconds tops to race to the window and throw it open.

“CHA-” she began to yell out, but she was immediately cut off by the clawed hand that shot out and covered her mouth.

Any words, or names, she may have intended to voice were now a mystery to the rest of the night.

After climbing so he could sit on the windowsill, Chat brought the index finger of his free hand to his lips while simultaneously raising an eyebrow as if to silently ask if she understood what he needed of her in that moment.

The girl before him slowly nodded, though she was practically buzzing with energy despite her clear effort to remain still.

Cautiously, the superhero uncovered his hand from his friend’s mouth. He took a moment to collect his thoughts in an effort to ensure that he would come across the way he wanted, but a moment was all the girl needed to start spewing a wave questions.

“Oh my gosh,” she rapidly whispered. “Are you really Chat Noir? Well of course it’s you, if anyone would know it’s me. But where’s Ladybug? Is she here? Are you here alone? Does Ladybug know you’re here alone? Why are you here at all? Is Ladybug in trouble? Oh no do we-”

Chat could make out the word “sorry” from beneath his hand that one again covered Alya’s mouth.

“I’m here alone, and Ladybug is perfectly fine,” Chat answered. He took another deep breath, trying to collect himself and calm his nerves. Why he even had nerves right now, was yet another thing he didn’t fully understand. But that wasn’t important right now.

Right now…

“I need your help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyoo so, this is late i know, but i spilled coffee on my keyboard which put my laptop out of commission for a few days so,, yeah,,  
> anyways happy new year guys !!  
> the chapter schedule is pretty up in the air rn since i'm visiting friends this weekend buttt there should be a update sometime in the next week  
>   
> ty!!!


	5. Shadows

Chat Noir could not for the life of him understand what the girl standing before him was thinking. 

Perhaps deep down, way, way deep down, there was a part of his brain that had a pretty good idea of what it could be. But the rest of him absolutely refused to even acknowledge it as a possibility.

She stood there, staring at him. He stared back. A positively devilish smirk was growing on her lips. He began to second guess his plan.

There really wasn’t time for this.

Two minutes earlier when he was finally able to get a word in, he had simply informed her that he would like her assistance for the evening in keeping watch over the citizen named Marinette Dupain-Cheng. He was sure to include that it was strictly due to his superhero duties, and that this was completely routine and normal.

He had tried to keep up his playful Chat-like energy while explaining all of this, but it proved to be rather difficult when his mind was plagued by the images from just before when Marinette had walked out of the bakery with her hair down.

It really didn’t help when his brain kept trying to imagine what it would feel like to run his fingers through it.

Somehow though, he managed to get his story out to Alya.

Once she heard him out, Chat had removed his hand that had been covering her mouth for what was now the second time, and immediately she had sobered up from her over-excited state.

And now, now she was looking at him. Like this. It was remarkably unnerving.

Chat was about to finally break the silence by reminding her that time was of the essence, but she beat him to it.

“So let me get this straight,” Alya started. “You’re asking me to help you spy on Marinette while she’s on her date with Luka.”

Her expression was dripping with smug amusement.

“I’m a superhero, I do not spy,” he countered, raising a clawed index finger to articulate his point. “I investigate.”

Alya raised her eyebrows. “Is that so?”

It really felt like her gaze was seeing straight through him, as if she was reading all of his secrets like an open book.

“And I also, um, protect,” Chat continued. “You know, when necessary. Like tonight. It’s necessary.”

They really needed to get going soon if they wanted to get to the Grand Paris without missing too much of the date. Marinette and Luka would likely be arriving there any minute now, and yet he was stuck here getting nowhere with this mischievous journalist. Her intense staring was relentless, and it was honestly starting to creep him out a little.

“Alya, I would really appreciate your help with this, but we are really short on time,” Chat said as he reached behind him to grab his staff. “I know this is very sudden and a lot to ask of you, but I really need your answer. Will you go with me?”

At hearing his question, the journalist before him sobered up her expression once more, her eyes no longer seemingly trying to analyze every part of him.

He involuntarily let out an audible sigh of relief.

“Can I ask you one thing before I give you my answer?” she questioned.

The blond superhero nodded silently.

“Marinette is my best friend so obviously I care about all of this, but why,” she paused. “Why do  _ you _ care about it so much?”

Chat fidgeted with his staff as he tried to think of an answer. Why did he care so much? Because Marinette was his classmate and one of his only real friends? That had to be it. Even though he wasn’t really sure if she actually considered him a real friend in return. They weren’t exceptionally close. But he couldn’t tell any of that to Alya because she had asked Chat Noir, not Adrien. He was really digging himself in deep here.  

“W-well,” he started, pausing to clear his throat. “Like I said before, as a superhero it’s my job to protect the citizens of Paris, and that includes protecting girls from boys who could potentially break their heart. Or from boys who are just not, um, good? For them I mean.”

He sighed in defeat as the girl in front of him burst into giggles.

God he sounded so dumb right now. This would be so much easier to explain as Adrien, though he guessed had already tried that and it’s exactly what had led him to his current predicament.

“I thought your job was to stop akumas,” Alya giggled.

She had a point.

“Well how do we know that this Luka guy isn’t akumatized right now and trying to trick Marinette?” Chat countered. “He was akumatized last night. If he still has any lingering negative emotions then it makes sense that Hawk Moth would have gone after him again!”

“Luka is not akumatized,” Alya said exasperatedly, smacking a hand to her forehead, though her giggles continued.

“Okay, okay, fine. He isn’t akumatized,” Chat grumbled. “But I still wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him.” He paused for a moment, lifting his free hand to scratch his chin. “Which now that I think about it, I could actually probably throw him pretty far, so I trust him even less than that.”

He watched as Alya brought a hand in front of her mouth and cleared her throat, clearly trying to suppress her laughter. Was his unfortunate awkwardness really this amusing for her?

After a few agonizing seconds, she moved her hand away from her mouth and folded her arms across her chest.

Chat feared for the worst.

“Alright, I’ll go with you,” she said evenly.

“Really!?” Chat responded almost immediately.

In that moment he more resembled a bouncing puppy than a sleek cat.

“Well you’re clearly desperate, and you also save my city on a daily basis, not to mention all the times you’ve rescued me personally, so I definitely owe you one.”

Chat stood up straight with a proud smile on his face. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear the ‘desperate’ part.” He quickly hopped back up onto the windowsill and twisted around to extend one hand out. “Well then we better be off, our mission awaits us.”

“Wait just a second,” Alya called out, turning on her heels and running across the room to her closet.

“Alya we do not have time for a wardrobe change right now!” Chat exclaimed in disbelief. And he thought he was a model.

“I’m not changing my clothes, I’m getting these,” she replied, turning back around to face him after a moment of rummaging around. In her hands she held a large sun hat and two pairs of sunglasses.

The confusion must have been obvious on his face because before he could ask why she grabbed those when the sun had already gone down, she held out one of the pairs of sunglasses to him.

“These can be our disguises!” she informed him excitedly. “It’s not much but between keeping a good distance from them, and covering our faces, we should be able to go unnoticed by them. Plus Mari will be focused on Luka anyways. I’m not too sure what to do about those pointy ears of yours though. Do they come off or-” She choked on her words when she watched the black cat ears Plagg bestowed him with wiggle slightly in response. “I’ll take that as a no.”

“Just the shades for me will be fine,” Chat replied, urgency leaking out of his tone. “Would you mind holding onto them for me until we get there?” The need to get to the hotel as soon as possible was starting to really wear on him. He didn’t know if he could handle another prying question from his energetic friend.

To his relief, no further questions came from her. She simply nodded firmly with a determined yet giddy expression on her face. 

Once again the superhero held out his hand, and he watched as she scrambled up onto the windowsill beside him, carrying all parts of their “disguises” with her.

“Are you ready?” Chat asked as his friend secured her arms around him. “For real?” he added.

“Definitely,” she replied eagerly.

He gave her a curt nod.

“Hold on tight,” was the last thing he told her before he took off into the night sky.

In reality, it had only been a matter of minutes since he had last seen Marinette with her soft black hair that now flowed freely down upon her shoulders. But it felt like a lifetime. He couldn’t explain why, but he suddenly felt like he didn’t know what he would do if he was never able to see her like that again.

Lucky for him though, the Grand Paris was only a couple blocks away now, and before he knew it he was dropping down by the side of the hotel with Alya at his side. As soon as their feet hit the ground, she let go of him and pulled on the sun hat she had been carrying. 

Quickly she reached out and handed him a pair of glasses which he put on while sporting one of his signature grins.

“How do I look?” he asked in a playful tone while pretending to strike a pose.

“Like a jealous cat,” she laughed.

The blond superhero gasped loudly while dramatically throwing an open hand against his chest. “I cannot believe you would call me jealous when I’m going out of my way to help the citizens of my beloved city! Besides, my entire heart belongs to My Lady and I wouldn’t have it any other way!”

The sunglasses he wore did little to dim the twinkle of his eyes when he spoke of his partner.

However, his attention was diverted when he spotted Marinette and Luka walking up to the front of the hotel a ways ahead of them.

“Quick, don’t let them see us!” he whispered in a panic, grabbing Alya’s arm and dragging her closer to the building so they would be hidden within the shadows.

“Wow you really are hopeless,” Alya commented while prying the superhero’s hand off of her.

But he didn’t even register her words. The only thing his mind could focus on was how he could see the rosiness of Marinette’s cheeks that were lit up by the lights of the hotel, even from his hiding spot all the way over here. He had never been more thankful for his superhero abilities than he was in that moment.

Unfortunately, that happiness didn’t last. His stomach churned when he lowered his gaze slightly to see her hand being held in Luka’s. It was just wrong.

When the pair ahead disappeared from his view completely, he turned his attention back to Alya.

“We should get going.”

“Of course,” she replied, watching him.

The two began to walk down the street towards the entrance of the hotel. Although Chat was practically squirming knowing that Luka was alone with Marinette right now, he forced himself to slow his pace so it wouldn’t look like they were trailing the pair that had gone in ahead of them. Hopefully.

He completely missed the knowing gaze the journalist was giving him.

“So remind me again why I’m here and not Ladybug?” she asked.

Finally, a question he could answer honestly. Trying to come up with all sorts of excuses for her previous questions without giving anything away pertaining to his identity was difficult. “Because I know you and Marinette are best friends. If Luka does something dumb, which he obviously will, then you and I will just so happen to be in the right place at the right time. I can deal with him, while you can take care of Marinette. It’s foolproof,” he explained proudly.

“I see,” Alya responded. She sounded like she thought his plan was more of a joke rather than serious business, but she didn’t say anything more on the matter.

“Besides,” he added. “I don’t think Marinette really knows Ladybug anyway, so it makes more sense for you to be here. I mean I guess LB’s saved her a few times before, but I’ve never actually even seen the two of them together so clearly they’ve only met briefly.”

“Yeah I guess you’re right,” the journalist responded. “I never realized how much Marinette doesn’t really interact with you guys.”

“I think it’s more like you interact with us  _ a lot _ ,” the superhero countered. “You’re usually one of the first people on the scene when there’s an akuma. Plus there’s that blog of yours,” he added with an eye roll. Even though he wore the shades over his mask, Alya still laughed at his expression. “Speaking of which,” he continued, “everything that happens this evening is strictly off limits for the Ladyblog.”

“Aw man,” she responded sarcastically, snapping her fingers in one hand.

“I mean it,” Chat said, eyeing her wearily from the side of his vision as he walked forward. The large doors of the hotel entrance were just around the corner from them now. The grand lights lit up the street around them, and he watched as Alya finally put on her own pair of sunglasses as well.

“Don’t worry,” Alya laughed. “As much as I’d love to use ‘Chat Noir Stalks Random Girl on Her Date with Another Guy’ as a headline, I will refrain from the temptation. For Mari’s sake of course.”

He was slightly taken aback.

“Marinette is not just a random girl, she’s my friend!” he defended. “At least give me that much credit!”

Alya’s expression rapidly shifted from amusement to shock. “I’m sorry she’s your what!?” she asked, freezing in place. But now they were already at the entrance to the hotel and the doorman stood before them.

“Good evening Monsieur Noir, Mademoiselle Césaire,” the doorman greeted. “How may I be of assistance to Paris’s savior and his companion this evening?

“We would like to dine in the restaurant,” the superhero responded with a gleaming smile. He knew that factually, yes, he did save Paris alongside Ladybug quite often, but still, hearing someone give him honest praise really made him feel appreciated.

“Wonderful!” the doorman replied, gracing them with his own smile in return. “Please come in,” he beamed as he held one of the tall doors wide open for them.

The two made their way inside and headed straight for the entrance of the restaurant. Since Alya’s mom worked there, and Chat was, well, Adrien, they both knew their way around the hotel well. Luckily though, there were clearly labeled signs that pointed the way to the restaurant, meaning that Chat would not have to come up with yet another excuse, this time as to why he seemed to know his way around.

It didn’t take them long to get there, and as soon as the tables came in view behind the restaurant doors, Chat found himself automatically scanning the room for a head of soft dark hair. Well, he assumed it was soft. He’d never actually felt it of course, but-

His thoughts came to a halt when he finally spotted her. She was sitting facing away from him at a table in the far back corner, with Luka sitting across from her. Luka, who was now staring straight at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol wassup, this is only like over a month late, how u guys been??  
> i've just been busy a lot recently but fear not, i have every intention of finishing this fic. i've definitely been inspired with all the new episodes that have been coming out and I can't wait to write this out!  
> i don't know exactly when i'll update next but it definitely should not be as long a wait as this time
> 
> thanks for reading!!  
> 


	6. Storms & Meadows

The small candle that had been placed delicately at the center of the table flickered, casting flashing shadows upon the blue-haired boy’s face for a few moments. Marinette had been fascinated by his eyes while the two of them waited for their food to arrive, for even though the restaurant was dimly lit, his eyes still shone brightly. When the candle flickered, it almost looked as if lightning had flashed within his eyes, like a passionate storm surging across the skies. It was such a stark contrast compared to the light green she was so used to looking into, the green that reminded her of soft meadows on a sunny day.

Or maybe she was just reading too much into it.

Quickly she averted her eyes, mentally reprimanding herself for even thinking about Adrien when Luka was literally sitting right in front of her. Since when did her thoughts get so poetic anyway?

Right before Luka had picked her up, Marinette had firmly voiced her resolve to Tikki that from now on she would ignore any feelings she had for Adrien. Instead she would only focus on new people. People she actually had a chance with. People she could actually get a coherent sentence out to.

She was still going to be friends with Adrien, that wouldn’t change, but after almost three years of pining after him, it was pretty clear that the two of them were just not meant to be. She tried her absolute best to shove down any painful feelings that came with her new resolve, but it was hard. Especially when every time she let her thoughts wander, they always found their way back to him.

But she was Ladybug, the savior of Paris. The savior of those who had let their negative emotions take over. And she refused to call herself a true hero if she let her feelings towards just one boy bring her down.

While these thoughts raced around in her head, she realized that she had not actually been listening to what Luka was saying.

“And we plan to release an EP soon,” the boy sitting across from her explained with an excited smile.

Oh that’s right, she had asked him about his band and their music. How could she have let herself get distracted by thoughts of Adrien so easily? Or rather, thoughts of not thinking about Adrien. She mentally smacked herself in the head. _Get it together Marinette! You’re on a date with Luka! Think about Luka! Better yet, talk to Luka!_

“Wow that sounds exciting,” she responded, hoping that he hadn’t noticed she’d zoned out for literally everything he’d just told her except his last sentence. “Do you have a release date planned? I can’t wait to hear it!”

The smile she gave him was genuine. She really did want to hear his music. Earlier in the car they had discovered that both of them loved Jagged Stone, and Luka was amazed when Marinette told him that she had actually been the one to design his latest album cover. Marinette was sure she would enjoy Luka’s music as well.

“We don’t have a set date yet, but definitely some time late next month,” Luka responded. The smile he gave her as he spoke, combined with the softness of his shining eyes, made Marinette’s stomach flutter. She could feel a blush forming on her cheeks and was silently glad the lighting in the restaurant was dimmed.

“You know,” he continued, “I actually have most of the tracks on my computer... at…”

Marinette watched in confusion as Luka’s gaze shifted past her and his words trailed off.

“You’re computer at...?” Marinette repeated.

Luka didn’t seem to hear her. He looked rather surprised and was intently focused on something behind her.

Marinette panicked. Was there somebody else there? Another girl? Someone else Luka would rather be with than her clumsy self?

She turned around to see for herself. When she looked though, she couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary. Half the tables of the restaurant were occupied by random citizens, none she knew by name, and a couple of finely dressed waiters and waitresses walked around, but other than that there was nothing, or no one, else to look at. That she could find at least.

“Luka, what is it?” she asked, trying again to get his attention and snap him out of whatever daze he was suddenly in.

“Oh I’m sorry, it’s nothing,” he immediately replied, shaking his head slightly as if he were shaking off some sort of disbelief.

“Are you sure?” Marinette questioned, concern clear on her face.

“Yes, definitely,” he answered, this time while turning his gaze back to look softly into Marinette’s eyes. “I just thought I saw a cat, that’s all.”

“A cat? Oh I love cats!” Marinette exclaimed brightly. Immediately after she said that, she pleasantly remembered that Tikki was in her purse listening to every word they said. Marinette was definitely going to be teased later about that statement in particular, but it was too late to take it back now. Besides, she did love cats, her partner included. He was her most trusted friend. Her second half. She had no problem if Tikki heard her voice it. She just wasn’t, _in_ love with him of course.

“Yeah me too, I was just surprised to see one walking around the hotel on it’s own, that’s all,” Luka replied.

“Oh it’s not that unusual,” Marinette countered with a flap of her hand. “When Jagged Stone was staying here he brought his pet crocodile, Fang, and it went wherever he did!”

Marinette giggled at the look of surprise in Luka’s eyes, now that it was directed at her.

“Jagged Stone has a pet crocodile? Wait, you’ve _met_ Jagged Stone’s pet crocodile!?”

 

~~~

 

“Since when is the super hero of Paris all buddy-buddy with my best friend!?” the fiery-haired journalist demanded in a whisper from beneath her large hat and sunglasses.

Chat Noir squeaked from where he was standing with his back flat against the wall that was right outside the doors of the restaurant. Unfortunately Luka had managed to spot him right away, but Chat had managed to flee before Marinette could fully turn her head around, dragging Alya with him. Well, he assumed he had fled in time. Either way he guessed it didn’t really matter because no doubt Luka would tell her they were there, even if she hadn’t seen them herself.

“So much for going unnoticed,” he muttered.

“Chat are you even listening to me!?”

“Sorry I was a little distracted by the fact that we haven’t even stepped foot in there and they’ve _already seen us!_ ” he whispered back, his tone half sarcastic and half terrified.

“So? Who cares? They probably think we’re just doing an interview for the Ladyblog anyway.”

Chat paused his panicking for a moment to consider that. She was right actually, he had nothing to worry about. Out of all the people and places to be seen in, having dinner with his number one fan and reporter wouldn’t be strange at all. Especially since the superheros were known to do one-on-one interviews with her from time to time anyway.

He let out a sigh of relief.

“You’re right, it’s the perfect cover,” he told her, his confidence rapidly returning.

“Of course I’m right, I’m always right.” Alya lifted her head smugly and adjusting her shades.

At that moment the hostess of the restaurant walked up to them from somewhere inside, and immediately rushed out a greeting once she realized who had been waiting for her.

“Oh my, Chat Noir!” she exclaimed a bit too loudly for Chat’s taste. As soon as she said it though, she seemed to remember where she was and quickly centered herself. “Will it be just the two of you for this evening?”

“Yes, just us,” he replied smoothly, any hint of distress now gone from his features. If there was one thing Chat Noir was good at, it was playing it cool. If he did say so himself.

“Please come in, come in. Choose anywhere you like.” The hostess spread one arm out in array, gesturing to the whole dining room.

Chat twitched as all the eyes in the room started turning towards him. He quickly looked to see if Marinette was looking at him too, but he saw that she remained facing away from him. His eyes briefly met Luka’s again though. At lightning speed, Chat averted his gaze and scanned the tables around him.

“This table is fine,” Chat rushed out, pulling out a chair from the table he deemed farthest from where Marinette and Luka sitting. Alya quickly followed suit while the hostess placed menus on the table and promptly disappeared. To his relief, there was no else occupying the tables immediately surrounding them, meaning that he could talk to her without worrying about anyone eavesdropping or interrupting.

He was far too busy to be signing autographs tonight.

“Why are we sitting so far away?” Alya asked dumbfounded. “Aren’t we supposed to be able to like, ya know, spy on their date?

“Investigate,” he corrected.

Alya rolled her eyes beneath her shades.

“I’m taking these things off, I can hardly see a thing in here,” she said as she moved to replace the glasses with her normal ones.

“Hey, put those back on! She’ll see you!”

“How do you expect me to properly spy if I can’t even see?”

Chat raised his eyebrows beneath his mask while giving her a deadpan stare. “I get the feeling that you’re not taking this mission seriously.”

Alya gave an exaggerated gasp. “What _ever_ gave you that idea?”

His held his stare.

Alya laughed. “But really though, why are we sitting so far away from them?”

Straightening up in his seat, a smug smile formed on his lips at her question.

“You might not be able to hear them, and they definitely cannot hear us, but I can hear them just fine.” He wiggled his cat ears for emphasis and watched as the girl sitting across from him paused her laughter to stare in awe.

“Can you really hear them?” she questioned with a skeptical look on her face. Always the journalist hunting for facts it seemed.

Instead of answering he stayed silent for a moment, clearing his mind and focusing in on the conversation happening across the room.

_“Wow you’re very talented Marinette.”_

_“Y-You really think so?”_

“I cannot believe that guy,” Chat immediately muttered in annoyance.

“What is it? What are they saying!?” Alya pressed.

The superhero relayed the bit of conversation he had overheard, unable to hide the disgust from his voice. Alya doubled over in laughter.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you ran over there right now, swooped her up, and bounced from this place,” Alya said while her laughter seemed to shake her whole body.

“I would not!”

Still, he paused for a moment to consider that option. “I would probably not.”

“Oh my god Chat!”

“What!?”

The journalist before him simply shook her head. It was clear though that she at least tried to keep her giggles quiet, as to not draw unnecessary attention.

“Does Ladybug know about this?” she asked, now staring him down.

“Does she know that we’re here? Not particularly, no. But if she needs me for anything, she can easily find me.” While he was talking, he brought one elbow to rest on top of the table to support the hand he now rested his chin in. A dreamy expression made its way onto his face. “Me and her, we’re just connected like that.”

 

~~~

 

Marinette had a feeling. A nagging feeling. She didn’t know how to explain it. Perhaps it was instinct, or perhaps it was the magic of the miraculous that connected them. Perhaps both.

Whatever the cause may be, she refrained from looking at the person she knew was behind her, and instead kept her attention strictly on her date in front of her. Or she tried to at least.

It now made sense why Luka had told her he’d seen a cat. She didn’t know whether to feel flattered or not that he had told her a little white lie in order to keep the focus of the date between the two of them, and not on _him_.

_That stupid cat, what was he even doing here?_

“Marinette?” Luka called across from her. He looked slightly concerned.

“Oh I’m sorry, what were you saying?”

_Come on Marinette, you finally have a real date with a new boy! Focus!_

“I was asking what movie you wanted to go see after this, but then you said something about a ‘stupid cat’.”

Marinette felt her face heat up in a flash.

“D-Did I say that? I meant, um, amazing cat! Yeah! What would we do without Chat Noir?” She forced out a laugh, desperately trying to act natural.

“Yeah I agree, totally,” Luka started, though he still looked puzzled. “But how did you know he was here? You haven’t turned around and he’s way behind you.”

The color drained from her face that had been burning only moments ago.

“I-I uh, got a text just now! From Alya! She’s always the first to know when he makes a public appearance, see!” Thinking fast, Marinette flashed her phone screen to Luka so rapidly that she was positive he wouldn’t have had time to actually read anything.

“But your phone neve-”

“Let’s find a movie! Would you mind looking up the times?”

It was rare for Marinette to mess up this badly when it came to her Ladybug business. She blamed Chat.

All hope was not lost though, she could fix this. She just had to distract Luka from that particular topic whenever it got brought up, it was easy. No sweat.

“Of course,” Luka replied, his voice slowly dropping its suspicious tone.

To keep her own mind distracted though, that was a separate, much harder, task. She couldn’t help but sneak a peek behind her when Luka looked down to search on his phone. She instantly spotted her pointy-eared partner seated directly across the restaurant from her. He was staring right back at her through a dark pair of shades while a menu was covering the bottom half of his face.

She knew he was a loyal cat with a taste for theatrics, but honestly, what the hell!

What shocked her even more, was when she looked into the eyes of the person sitting across the table from him. A person who was wearing a hat Marinette herself had made for them.

The irony of what she had just told Luka hit her, she didn’t think Alya actually knew where Chat was, yet lo and behold.

Marinette prayed that her eyes were betraying her. Her best friend and her, well, other best friend, were spying on her date! Together! They weren’t even subtle!

She choked on her breath for a moment when she realized that this did not add up.

She could understand why Alya was here, with her nosey nature and all, but why on earth was _Chat Noir_ spying on Marinette _._ To him, Ladybug and Marinette were two completely different people. He had no reason to be here! For years she had gone to such extreme measures to make absolutely sure of that.

There was definitely something going on here and Marinette was determined to get to the bottom of it.

“Why don’t you look through these.”

Marinette turned back to find Luka handing his phone to her with a list of movies on the screen.

“Pick whatever you like,” he assured her with a warm smile.

“A-Alright.”

 

~~~

 

“Ow! Hey!” the young reporter exclaimed as she was lightly hit with a menu by the superhero sitting across from her.

“Why did you text Marinette that I was here!” he yelled in a whisper, betrayal clear in his voice.

“What are you talking about, of course I didn’t text her!”

Chat could tell she wasn’t lying, the surprise in her voice was genuine.

“But,” he started, his voice dropping low as confusion took over, “Marinette just told Luka that she knew I was here without actually looking for herself, because you texted her saying I was here.”

He watched his friend’s face across from him as she drew her brows together as well, clearly thinking hard.

It just didn’t make any sense why Marinette would lie about something small like a text. On top of that, if Alya didn’t text her and Luka didn’t tell her, then how _did_ she know he was here?

He was a total loss.

Suddenly Alya’s face popped up with a breathless “oh”, and she wore an expression that looked like she had just discovered all the secrets of the universe.

“What is it?” he asked, desperate to understand what was going on.

She gave a small chuckle in response. “Don’t worry about it.”

“What do you mean!?”

“Listen,” Alya said, a sparkle of knowledge gleaming in her eye, “I’m sure Marinette just looked over and saw us and didn’t want to admit that to Luka or something silly like that. You know how she gets.”

There was something about the way she said it that told him she was definitely hiding the real explanation from him, but he knew how stubborn she could be and so he accepted defeat in knowing that it would be near impossible to get her to tell him the actual conclusion she had come to.

“Yeah I guess you’re right,” he gave in.  

“I already told you, I always am. Now about what I was asking before,” she started, all too eager to jump topics.

“Hey you’re supposed to be investigating not interrogating,” he cut in.

“Before when I asked if Ladybug knew,” she continued, completely ignoring his protests, “I didn’t mean to ask if she knew that we were at the restaurant, I meant it as in does she know about your crush on Marinette?”

Chat was glad was not drinking his water in that moment, because if he had been, then he would have surely spat it out.

“Alya how could you say that, you know that’s not true!”

She looked at him.

He squirmed.

“Fine, fine,” she relented after a long, long moment. Her expression told him that she did not believe him one bit.

Fantastic.

“How about you answer my question from earlier.”

Question from earlier? She was a journalist, all she did was hound him with questions.

At seeing the confusion on his face, she clarified before he could ask her to. “Since when is the superhero of Paris all buddy-buddy with my best friend?” she repeated.

Oh that question. Chat was not an idiot, he knew when he was being interviewed for information. He always had to be careful of what he said, especially as a superhero, because if he gave even just one tiny piece of information too personal he could risk letting their identities be known to the public, or even worse, letting their identities be known to Hawk Moth. Chat didn’t even want to think of the horrors that would bring about.

Thankfully this time he had no reason not to answer Alya’s question truthfully. There was nothing to hide about his interactions with Marinette, and she had probably already told Alya about them anyway. Besides, being able to talk to Alya honestly was so much easier than having to come up with half-truths for everything.

“We’ve met plenty of times,” he answered easily.

Alya seemed to pause to consider that. “I guess so.”

“We definitely have,” he continued. The words came out more enthusiastically than he intended, but he couldn’t help it. The idea of knowing he had friends just made him so happy. “I was serious when I said we were friends. I teamed up with her when we defeated the Evillustrator, you remember that.”

She nodded.

“I also saved her when her grandmother was akumatized, and we had that candle-lit dinner on the rooftops that one time, oh and we-”

“You WHAT?”

Chat gulped. He suddenly couldn’t read the girl in front of him. Was she angry? Surprised? Hadn’t Marinette already told her?

Apparently not.

“We had a candle-lit dinner on the rooftops one time...?” Chat repeated meekly.

He really didn’t know what to think of her expression. She just sat there with a look of what he had decided was probably shock. He didn’t really have any desire to find out what else it could be.

“L-Look it’s not what it sounds like!” he quickly rushed, realizing how his description made it seem to her. “It wasn’t a date or anything! It was actually supposed to be for Ladybug, but she was busy and never came, and I happened to find Marinette who was feeling lonely that night too so we just, kinda, hung out. That’s all. We were just hanging out. As friends.”

Her silence after he finished his explanation made him more uncomfortable with every passing second.

Finally, she took a breath to speak. “So you and Mari like to sneak off for romantic dates. Huh.”

“I’m telling you, it wasn’t a date!” Chat whined.

Before he could protest further, a waitress came to their table placing a plate of food in front of each them, startling Chat into another wave of confusion. He looked to Alya but she was smiling at the waitress and thanking her. Chat quickly followed in thanking her as well, though he did not recall ever actually placing his order.

As soon as the waitress left he looked to Alya. “Uh…”

The knowing smirk she gave him slightly terrified him.

“You see while you were busy making goo-goo eyes at Mari over there, I was ordering our food.”

He looked down to see a delicate plate of grilled salmon before him.

“Fish. Very funny.” he deadpanned.

Alya gave him a thumbs up accompanied by a big cheesey smile.

“Wait a minute!” he exclaimed after a moment, the first half of her sentence finally registering in his brain, “I was not making goo-goo eyes! Alya!”

But she was already stuffing her mouth with food while giggling uncontrollably.

Chat let out a sigh, knowing that she was only teasing him. Well, he told himself she was only teasing him, otherwise he didn’t know how he would last the whole evening.

Turning his attention to the food before him, he finally realized how hungry he was. And also how tired. He had been awake a very, very long time. The akuma attack last night, caused by Luka no less, had kept him up past sunrise. Between school and learning of Marinette’s date, he’d barely remembered to stop and eat.

A peaceful quiet settled over the table as they both dug into their meals. Chat used this opportunity to focus his attention back to the other side of the restaurant. As easy as it was to forget with Alya’s endless questions, that was the whole reason they had come here after all.

_“Oh how about this movie? If we finish up here in the next twenty minutes or so, we should be able to get there right on time.”_

_“That sounds fantastic, I’ve been wanting to see that one for a while now, it’s like you read my mind!’_

Marinette’s giggle that followed caused goosebumps to form on his arms. He silently thanked Plagg for giving him a suit that covered them.

He was halfway through his plate when a sharp beeping sound disrupted his concentration.

He looked up to Alya. “I uh, g-gotta, go uh…” His mind was still fogged by Marinette’s giggle and he found himself having a hard time getting coherent words out. Strange.

Luckily Alya was one of the few people he didn’t have to explain himself to.

“Yeah I know, go on,” she responded. “Just come back though. You better not leave me here alone and take off for another secret rooftop date with Marinette. I’ll know.”

“Thanks, I’ll be right back,” he quickly replied, pretending not to hear the second half of her statement. It was just easier for everyone that way.

As quick as he could without drawing too much attention to himself, he made his way to the doorway at the back wall, sternly keeping himself from looking in Marinette’s direction. That is, only after he made eye contact with her and found her glaring back.

He scrambled through the doorway and down the short hall that lead to the single-person restrooms. Just what he needed. Giving a quick look around to make sure the coast was clear, he ran into the nearest one and locked the door as fast as he could. A sigh of relief escaped his lips, his secret would be safe for another day.

“Plagg, claws in,” he exhaled.

Loud complaining bombarded Adrien’s ears as soon as the tiny black kwami spiraled free.

“I need cheese, give me cheese! I’m so exhausted Adrien, where’s my cheese!”

“Let’s go to the kitchen,” Adrien grumbled in defeat, not willing to waste any time arguing with his kwami.

“Alright!” Plagg cheered.

Instantly he zipped through the door before Adrien could even open it, looking like nothing more than a zooming black dot to the naked eye.

Adrien closed the restroom door behind himself as he walked out, mentally preparing to face whatever troubles his tiny companion was causing in the kitchen, though never got more than a few steps. While he was caught up in his thoughts, he collided shoulders with someone who had been walking the opposite direction in the hallway. It was like Plagg had somehow convinced the universe to stall Adrien just so that the kwami could roam around the kitchen unsupervised for as long as possible.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t you there,” Adrien said, turning to apologize.

It was then that he finally registered who exactly he had bumped into.

Marinette’s surprised eyes looked up into his, and he did not miss the blush that bloomed on her cheeks.

“A-Adrien?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyo so this is the longest chapter so far and i somehow managed to pop it out in less than a week. schedule? what schedule? i feel like i'm really on a roll with writing this right now so maybe the next chapter will also come out soon. hopefully. 
> 
> as always, thank you so much for reading!!


	7. All of Me

A minute earlier, Marinette had finally found the opportunity to ask her superhero partner just what on earth he thought he was doing. She had seen him make his way into the back of the restaurant, and so she promptly excused herself from her table, telling Luka she’d be right back.

She had quickly become confused once she’d entered the back hallway of the restaurant though, because the stupid kitten wasn’t there. The only other places he could have gone from there were to the kitchen or restrooms, but she’d seen how he’d scrambled away from her and was almost positive that he was hiding in one of the restrooms. On her way to them, she’d been distracted by her thoughts of what exactly she was going to say to him, and she’d smacked into another person that was in the hall.

Now she was staring up in horror at the boy, the one single boy, that she did not want to have to see tonight. She’d made a resolution earlier, and she had really been trying to stick to it. It had even been going great in fact. Sort of. She guessed it really didn’t matter anyway now, because as soon as he turned to her, her insides melted into putty.

“A-Adrien?” His name tumbled out from her lips before she could stop it.

She couldn’t move. He was just _staring_ at her. And she was at mercy to his gaze.

Her mind started to race with questions as to why he was here, though it had little effect on the rest of her body which remained frozen in place.

Back in the main room of the restaurant, she had been trying not to turn around in her seat too much to look behind her, but she had still gotten a decent look of everyone else dining. If Adrien’s father or his bodyguard had been there, then she would have definitely noticed.

But they were not, so why was Adrien here?

Thinking back to Adrien’s schedule that she had so dutifully memorized, she realized that he didn’t have anything scheduled for tonight, not this late anyway. But she also knew that when his schedule was “free”, he was mostly kept holed up in his room by his father.

However, there was one person that his father approved of him being around.

It suddenly became harder to breathe as Marinette was forced to consider the possibility. Adrien had been friends with Chloe years before she’d ever met him herself, she knew that, but actually seeing him here all by himself when Chloe’s room was just upstairs made her stomach coil with an unpleasant feeling. It almost felt like fear, but she refused to go so far as to actually call it that.

“Oh hey Marinette, what are you doing here?”

If she hadn’t already blushing before, she most certainly was now.

“I-I…” she started, but the rest of her words wouldn’t come.

At least she’d gotten her voice to work at all though, that was a start.

In a flash she remembered why she actually was here, and she mentally smacked herself for completely forgetting about Luka the second she so much as looked at Adrien. This was all that dumb cat’s fault. If he hadn’t been spying on her, then she would never have come back here in the first place.

All thoughts of her partner were forgotten though when Adrien called her name again.

“Marinette?”

His voice sounded concerned now and it only made her stomach coil tighter. Well, it sounded slightly concerned. Maybe he was just curious as to why she had suddenly turn into a silent mime.

At that thought, she forced more words out of her mouth.

“O-oh me? You’re- I mean I’m, on a gate- I-I mean date, with, um, Luka.”

Her gold medal-worthy stutter aside, saying those words out loud to him made her realize just how wrong they felt. Standing in front of the boy whose pictures she blew kisses to every night and telling him to his face that she was going out with someone else, felt just the same as if she were telling him that the sky was actually green. It felt like she was lying to him.

Though she really was technically on a date with Luka, the implication that she had real feelings for anyone other than Adrien left a sour taste in her mouth.

“Oh, well have fun then!”

Marinette was completely taken aback. Though his voice sounded encouraging, there was something different in his eyes. She could have sworn they held just the faintest hint of sadness.

Though she figured who wouldn’t be sad when they had to hang out with Chloe of all people. Marinette shrugged it off by telling herself it must be because of the blonde girl that loved to torment her at school.

“T-Thanks,” she replied.

Neither of them made any move to walk away.

Or look way.

Marinette wasn’t sure if she’d ever made eye contact with him for so long before. The real him of course, not the one on her computer screen at home. She’d spent plenty of hours staring into those eyes. They weren’t anywhere near as beautiful as the real deal though.

It took her another minute before she was able to form words again.

“I should p-probably get back to Luka.”

It was only then that Adrien finally turned his head away, breaking her gaze as he cleared his throat. “O-Of course.”

Marinette blinked. Did he just… stutter?

Before she could roll over that thought in her head any further, the sound of shattering glass drew her attention back to the direction of the main dining room. It was loud.

The sound of screams followed shortly after.

“Uh, gotta go!”

“Yeah, see you later bye!”

Marinette didn’t even register his response as she bolted to the closest bathroom, not wasting any time in calling for her kwami once the door was fully shut.

“Tikki, spots on!”

Within seconds she bursted back out the door, not even stopping to consider that Adrien might have seen her enter as Marinette and come out as Ladybug. Luck had her back though, because by the time she was back in the hall, Adrien had already vanished.

Thank goodness. He must have already found a place to hide which meant that she wouldn’t need to worry about whatever akuma was on the other side of the wall attacking him.

A moment later, Chat Noir came bounding out of the kitchen.

So she’d been wrong, he really had gone into the kitchen. For what, she couldn’t fathom, but many things he did were a mystery to her so she didn’t waste another second wondering about it.

“My Lady,” he practically purred out once he noticed her in the hall.

 _Oh_ did she have a bone to pick with him.

The sound of dishes being shattered stopped her before she could start with him though. She bit back the words she wanted to say to him, and instead began dashing down the hall.

“Let’s go,” she called out as she ran, not turning back to look behind her. Not this time.

 

~~~

 

At the sound of a phone buzzing, Marinette lifted her arm up from where it lay across her face. Sitting up on her futon, she reached over and picked up her phone from its spot at the edge of the cushion.

 

_From: Alya🦄😎_

_yo i’m outside, open up_

 

Letting out a huge sigh, Marinette stood up with exhaustion pulling down on her shoulders as she started making her way down to the front door.

Were there always this many stairs?

Earlier at the restaurant, the akuma, “The Disruptor” as he had referred to himself, had spent a solid two and a half hours smashing whatever he could get his hands on, just so that he could make as much noise as possible. If Marinette had been forced to hear the over-dramatic sound effects coming out of the lasers he was so pleasantly equipped even one more time, she might have actually gone mad.

Apparently, the akuma victim was a guest staying at the hotel who was put in a room adjacent to Jagged Stone’s, and wasn’t all too fond of the constant electric guitar riffs blasting through the walls. In the midst of getting his revenge with Hawk Moth’s oh-so-generous assistance, he had given an already very sleep deprived superheroine a pounding headache.

By the time The Disruptor had been returned to his normal self, there was only one spot left on her earrings. She’d rapidly cast her magic ladybugs to fix all the damage he’d caused, and then immediately raced off to hide from the public eye before her transformation wore off.

There hadn’t been any time to interrogate Chat like she’d wanted to, but they had a patrol scheduled for tomorrow evening so she would get her chance then.

As soon as her spots had disappeared, she’d texted Luka that she was fine and that Ladybug had sent her home for safety. She’d also thanked him for the date, though in her mind she knew they wouldn’t be going out again in the future. Not romantically at least.

Though she’d tried her hardest to move on from her long-lasting crush, the heart wants what the heart wants, and Marinette’s simply wanted Adrien.

Focusing her attention back to the present, Marinette made her way down the last few steps of the stairway, and opened the front door to reveal the other person she had quite a few questions for.

Marinette watched with a flat stare as her best friend threw up her arms in joy, sporting a smile that was far too big to be innocent.

“Hey! What’s up girl!”

“Please, like you don’t already know,” Marinette deadpanned, though she couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at the corners of her lips at witnessing her friend’s theatrics.

“Oh come on!” Alya pleaded, bringing her hands together in front of her chest for emphasis as she stepped inside. “We stayed in the background!”

“You two are the least subtle people I have ever met in my life,” Marinette said while she locked the door back up.

“Oh yeah, that reminds me!”

Marinette turned back around and watched as her best friend’s expression quickly shifted into one of a devious reporter who knew they had discovered an enormous scoop. Uh-oh.

In a flash, the enthusiastic girl was dragging Marinette up the stairs by her arm.

“Speaking of meeting Chat Noir,” the journalist started, not slowing down her pace in the least, “I believe there is a teensy tiny little detail concerning him that you must have forgotten to tell me.”

Marinette felt her blood run cold, though she forced her legs to keep moving. She couldn’t start acting guilty now.

Besides, it was highly unlikely that Alya actually knew her secret, or at least that she had any real proof. Chat Noir might be very dramatic, and he might be lead by his heart rather than his mind, but if there was one thing she was absolutely positive he would never do, it was betray Ladybug’s trust. Whatever way Alya thought she’d discovered her identity, it definitely wasn’t from Chat.

Marinette mentally braced herself as the two of them made their way up through the trap door of her room. All she had to do was deny and distract, she could do this.

“I, uh, am not sure what you’re talking about,” she said, sitting back down on her futon as her friend gave her a devilish smirk.

“Oh really?” Alya questioned, remaining standing.

Marinette involuntarily shrunk into the pillows while her friend towered above her.

“L-Look, Alya, I really d-don’t know.”

She wished Alya would just spit it out already. It wasn’t like she actually wanted to hear her friend accuse her of being Ladybug, but the sooner she said it, the sooner Marinette could get this all over with.

“So you just don’t remember going on a romantic, candle-lit, rooftop date with Chat Noir?”

Once Marinette registered her words, relief immediately flooded through chest. However, not even a moment later, it was replaced with shock.

“What the hell! I’m gonna strangle that cat!” she blurted out.

She then watched in humiliation as her friend doubled over in laughter and collapsed beside her on the futon.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were dating a superhero,” Alya said inbetween gasps for air.

While mentally cursing the blush she knew was covering her cheeks, Marinette tried desperately to explain herself.

“It’s not like that! We’re not dating!” she exclaimed.

Reaching behind herself to grab a pillow, she brought her knees up to her chest and hugged the pillow in between to rest her chin on.

She let out a deep breath before continuing.

“We were both just, lonely that night I guess. He found me on my balcony and so we spent the evening together. It was nice.”

Realizing how soft her voice had become, Marinette’s flush deepened.

“B-But it definitely wasn’t a date. We’re not dating.”

Alya’s laughter had calmed down now and she adjusted her glasses while watching Marinette from across the futon.

“Maybe you should tell him that,” she replied. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone be as jealous as he was tonight.”

Marinette stared at her friend with wide eyes as she felt her breath escape her, before quickly averting her gaze down to the pillow in her arms.

Jealous? Chat Noir was jealous? Of _Luka?_ That wasn’t possible, it would mean he’d have to have a crush on her as Marinette, and she knew better than anyone that he was already in love with her as Ladybug.

But then again, perhaps she had seen it for herself tonight. Up until now, she had been completely baffled as to why Chat had been there. However, if she considered what Alya had just told her to be true, then suddenly everything she’d seen him do before the akuma attack made sense.

Though she would never admit it aloud, she’d always been a bit flattered at Chat’s bold proclamations of his love for her superhero side, even despite how embarrassing they may be.

It was nice to have someone appreciate her so much.

She received plenty of acknowledgement and praise in her civilian life of course, but there was something special about it when it came from her partner.

The very idea of him being in love with her civilian side as well, was making her head spin. No one had ever been in love with both sides of her before. It was always one or the other. Not that it was their fault, they had no way of knowing that their famous superheroine was also clumsy high schooler Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She doubted Chat actually knew either.

She knew she should probably be bothered by the fact that Chat apparently now liked two people at once, but really, he had simply fallen for her twice. It was hard to be upset at that.

On the other hand though, it was still not cool of him to follow her around on her date with Luka. If he liked her, then he should have said something to her directly. Lord knows that’s all he ever did to Ladybug.

She would definitely still be having a stern talk with him.

“Hey can I ask you something?”

At the sound of Alya’s voice, she lifted her head back up and nodded.

“Do you know Chat Noir’s true identity?”

The question completely caught Marinette off-guard.

“No, of course not!” she exclaimed. “Do you even realize how dangerous that would be!?”

She waited as the other girl took a long moment to ponder that.

“Yeah I guess you’re right,” she finally replied.

Standing up from the couch now, Alya walked over to the computer on Marinette’s desk and jiggled the mouse to wake up the screen.

“So girl, what movie do you want to watch?”

 

~~~

 

As soon as he finished twisting in the combination of his locker, Adrien pulled open the tall door. Even though it was a Monday morning, he was now finally feeling refreshed after having had such an eventful week.

There had been akuma attacks three days in a row, and Sunday was the first day he had actually been able to catch a break. He’d used it to sleep.

The worst part about all the chaos though, was that even though he’d spent countless hours with Ladybug, they’d barely had time to get a single word out to each other outside of battle.

Adrien paused his thoughts right then and made a mental note to be sure to give an extra kick to Hawk Moth, whenever they eventually found him, just for having the nerve to keep him from his Lady.

Since the plans for a patrol on Saturday had been canceled by the third akuma, Ladybug had sent him a text on his baton afterwards saying that they could meet up tonight instead.

Adrien began to lose himself in his thoughts of how excited he was to finally see her while he pulled out a couple of textbooks from his locker.

“Hey Adrien,” a familiar voice called behind him, drawing his attention back to the present.

“Oh, good morning Alya,” he greeted as he turned to her with a friendly smile on his face.

He saw that she was carrying her own textbooks, though she seemed extremely energetic for a high schooler on a Monday morning. She was practically bouncing.

He figured she’d probably drunk too much coffee again.

“So, long weekend huh,” she said with a suggestive edge to her voice.

That made Adrien freeze while he was halfway through shutting his locker door.

“Uh, y-yeah I guess?”

_Play it cool Adrien, play it cool. She hasn’t actually said she knows anything._

He kept his friendly smile on his face while he watched her carefully.

“I mean, there were three akuma attacks back-to-back,” she explained, “so I’m sure you stayed up reading all about them on my blog. I know how you have a little soft spot for Ladybug.” She finished her sentence with a wink on Ladybug’s name.

He unfroze as the pressure in his chest dissipated just as quickly as it had come, and he finished closing his locker all the way.

It wasn’t a secret that he liked Ladybug, most of his friends knew. They just didn’t know he _liked_ Ladybug.

“What can I say? You caught me,” he responded lightly, now unzipping his backpack from where it sat on the bench beside him so he could put his textbooks inside.

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot,” she continued from behind him.

“Hm?” he hummed, not turning around to face her as he began zipping his bag back up.

“You never gave me back my sunglasses.”

Right, the sunglasses.

“Oh sorry, I can bring them to you tomorrow.”

By the time he realized his mistake a split second later, it was already far, far too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alyas rly just the queen of meddling huh 
> 
> lol so first of all thank u for reading!! we're almost done with this adventure, there's only gonna be two chapters left! keeping the momentum from last week, i plan to to post them on the next two fridays. I also started a new ml fic, Unsteady Bloom, which updates on wednesdays so check it out if u want!


	8. Balance

Adrien couldn’t move. His mind was screaming at him to say something, anything, to fix this, but his body remained frozen in place where he stood hunched over his backpack. 

“Gotcha kitty,” he heard Alya say in a quiet voice behind him.

All at once he picked up his bag and grabbed one of Alya’s arms, dragging her over to the corner of the locker room and away from everyone else.

He immediately dropped her arm and instead used his hand to point an accusing finger at her, though he still couldn’t get any actual words out, only broken sounds.

“Yo-, I-, but-, ho-”

His mind was racing, but his most prominent thought was wondering how on earth he was going to explain this to Ladybug. She was his best friend, he told her things he’d never told anyone before and he knew she did the same. That wasn’t to say he didn’t have a few close friends in his civilian life, but the level of trust he had with Ladybug was simply incomparable. And the one thing she’d trusted him not to do was reveal his identity to anyone, even her. 

Adrien, had messed up.

He also might pass out.

“It’s alright,” Alya spoke up in casual tone, waving her hand nonchalantly.

“Nothing about this is alright!” Adrien blurted out, finally finding his voice.

He couldn’t even tell what he was feeling right now. Was he angry? Shocked? Afraid? In the end, he supposed it didn’t really matter since Ladybug would kill him for this anyway.

“No really, it’s alright, I swear I’ll never tell a soul,” Alya said, her voice now serious.

He wanted to respond with how that wasn’t the point at all, but he found himself already choking on his words again. Instead, the best he could do was just give her a look of complete bewilderment.

“But also,” Alya continued, “you really need to work on keeping your secret actually a secret. I get that you’re in love with Marinette and all, but like, get a grip man.”

Heat flooded his cheeks in a flash upon hearing her words. “I am not in  _ lov _ -”

“I already told you before,” Alya cut him off, tilting her head down and looking up at him from above her glasses, “If you need any tips on being a superhero, especially concerning your identity, you know who to go to. And you should go. You need it.”  

All of Adrien’s racing thoughts came to a halt as he stared at the girl before him in confusion. He didn’t know what she was talking about, he couldn’t recall her ever saying that to him before. There was no way she could have told him in the past about who had the best tips on being a superhero, when she’d only just discovered his identity now. Still, there was definitely something familiar about her words, though he couldn’t put his finger on it. He thought back, racking his brain trying to remember when she could have possibly said it. Maybe it was something she had told him as Chat Noir rather than Adrien?

He was too distracted with trying to figure it out to notice Alya’s nearly maniacal smile.

Suddenly the memory came back to him of that night on the rooftops when Alya’s little sisters had been akumatized, but it wasn’t actually Alya herself who he had been speaking to.

It was Rena Rouge.

“YOU!”

Remembering where he was currently standing, he immediately covered his mouth with his hands and glanced around behind himself to see if he had drawn any unwanted attention.

Luckily there weren’t too many people in the locker room since the bell would ring soon and many people were already in their classrooms. However, there was one set of eyes on him from the far end of the room.

Marinette was looking at him in surprise, but he knew she was too far away to have actually heard anything he’d said before his sudden exclamation. She was probably just wondering what he was doing shouting at her best friend.

_ Smooth Agreste, real smooth. _

Marinette looked away from him a moment later though, turning her attention back to the tall blue-haired boy she was standing in front of.

Adrien only turned back around himself when he felt a flick on his shoulder.

“Hey I just let you in on something top secret, and not even ten seconds later you’re already fuming over Luka again!?” Alya whispered harshly.

Had he really been fuming? Normally he tried to keep a rather strict control over his expressions whenever he was in public. It was all part of the “image” his father wanted for him, as if he were nothing more than a dress up doll. He didn’t realize that he’d been slipping until Alya pointed it out to him.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, you’re right,” he responded, letting out a sigh. “But, why did you tell me though?”

Alya shrugged at his question, as if they weren’t discussing the vital secrets that the entire city’s safety depended on.

“I guess I thought it hardly would have been fair if I, a mere part-timer, knew the identity of the one and only Chat Noir when he didn’t know mine.”

Adrien did have to admit to himself that he felt much more relieved in knowing she was actually a fellow miraculous user. It meant that his secret really was safe. On top of that, in all of the time since she’d started assisting them against Hawk Moth’s akumas, she had never once given even the faintest hint of her identity on the Ladyblog. In fact, Adrien felt almost proud of himself. Before, only Ladybug had known Rena Rouge’s true identity, but now he was in on it too and it made him feel important. 

On the other hand, Ladybug hadn’t actually approved of it, and she most certainly hadn’t approved of Rena knowing his own identity. When Ladybug found out that someone had learned his identity before she did, it would be the end of him.

“Oh god,” Adrien said, bringing up a hand flat against his forehead in dismay. “Ladybug is really going to kill us.”

“Um, correction, Ladybug is going to kill  _ you _ ,” Alya said while jabbing a finger against his shoulder.

Right then the distant sound of Marinette’s adorable giggle reached his ears, but he forced himself to keep his head facing forwards. 

“So, as my dying wish, will you help me break up Marinette and Luka’s conversation?” Adrien asked with the most pitiful eyes he could muster.

The girl standing before him simply laughed in response, and so in his defeat, he let his head hang and his shoulders droop forward.

“I’m supposed to go on a patrol tonight with Ladyb-” He cut off his sentence when Alya flicked him on the shoulder again. “Ow, what!?”  

Instead of answering his question, she nodded in the direction behind him.

Straightening up and following her gaze, he saw two people walking towards them and quickly realized why she had shut him up. Maybe he really did need to be more mindful of how he handled his secret. If anyone else ever found out about it, then one way or another the word would most certainly reach Hawk Moth and then no one would be safe. Luckily for Adrien, the pig-tailed girl approaching him stole his attention, especially with the boy she unfortunately brought trailing right beside her.

“Good morning Alya, g-good morning Adrien,” Marinette greeted with a soft smile as she stepped up to fully join them.

“Hey what’s up guys? Adrien and I were just about to head to class,” Alya said, giving her best friend a side hug.

Adrien watched in wonder as Marinette’s rosy cheeks somehow became even rosier, and he hoped she couldn’t hear how hard his heart was thumping in his chest. Everything about her always seemed so delicate and beautiful, and it filled him with the need to be her protector. He figured it must be because of his superhero instincts, so he didn’t bother trying to shrug the feeling off. It was just who he was.

“We were just catching up since we got separated by the akuma attack on Saturday,” Luka responded as the four of them began walking towards their classroom, though Adrien stayed on the outside of the group with Alya in between him and Marinette. This way, he stayed the farthest from Luka who was at the other end right next to Marinette.

At the mention of the akuma Saturday night, the memory of what happened back in the hallway of the restaurant popped into Adrien’s mind. He hadn’t meant to let Marinette see him outside of his mask, but thankfully she hadn’t asked him what he was doing there. He didn’t think he could have come up with an answer if he’d tried. In that moment, he’d been too caught up in taking in the way her hair framed her face gorgeously as she wore it down, and how it seemed to make her eyes sparkle even brighter than they already did. It had been breathtaking.

“Adrien?” Marinette’s voice called.

He looked across Alya as they continued walking to find Marinette and Luka staring at him, though while Luka seemed puzzled, Marinette seemed concerned.

“I-, um, huh?” Adrien fumbled over his words. He’d been so lost in thought that he hadn’t even realized he’d zoned out of the conversation.

“Marinette was just asking if you got away from the akuma alright,” Luka clarified. “Although, I don’t ever recall seeing you there, so where were you Adrien?” Luka’s voice sounded subtly accusing, almost as though he were to trying to challenge him.

Adrien wanted to scoff, but he used all of his willpower to hold it in and instead wore his go-to smile. Marinette hadn’t seemed to notice the challenge in Luka’s voice, and if only for her sake, he would not give in to Luka’s bait. However, that didn’t stop him from itching to take Luka’s current spot by Marinette’s side for himself. Luka barely even  _ knew _ Marinette, and Adrien had been her friend for years. He’d earned that spot.

As they all walked into the classroom together, he opened his mouth to respond to Luka’s inquiry, but the school bell rang out before he could speak. Their group quickly dispersed to sit in their respective seats, and Adrien breathed easier now that Luka was away from them and in the back of the classroom.

There were still many things left running through his mind between protecting Marinette, Alya knowing his secret, and Ladybug’s inevitable wrath, but for now, he would do his best to simply focus on class.

 

~~~

 

With five minutes left before he had to meet up with Ladybug for patrol, Chat bound through the evening air on his baton. He figured if he was early, then at least his timing would be one less thing for her to be mad at him for. His plan was to tell her about Alya before anything else, otherwise the guilt would be eating away at him, and it would basically be like lying to her which was something he would never do. 

Since the Eiffel Tower was not far behind his home, it only took him a minute to arrive on one of its high narrow landings, even with the small detour he took so he wouldn’t be traveling in a straight line.

Almost immediately after his boots touched the metal, a figure in red came swinging into view.

He gulped.

It wasn’t like Ladybug would actually kill him of course, but she would definitely be upset and seeing her unhappy was still painful for him. If he could, he would do everything in his power to make sure she smiled all the time, both in and out of the mask. He really loved it when she smiled. The only thing preventing him from trying, was that even after all these years she still refused to let him know her true identity. Well, that, and the fact that she’d told him she was already in love with another boy as a civilian. One day though, when he did know her identity, and even if she was in love with someone else, he swore he would still do everything he could to make her smile.

“I see you’re a bit early My Lady, couldn’t wait to see me?” he greeted with a wink as Ladybug landed down beside him.

Normally upon hearing his flirtatious greetings she would laugh or playfully shove him away, but right now she stood facing him with her weight on one hip, her arms crossed against her chest, and one unamused eyebrow raised beneath her mask. He knew that look. It meant she was about to scold him.

He didn’t think Alya would have gone and told Ladybug about their little incident before he had the chance to tell her himself, but apparently he’d been wrong.

In that case, if Ladybug already knew about his failure to keep his identity a secret from their nosy friend, then all that was left to do was apologize like crazy and try to make it up her.

“Lad-”

“Why did you follow Marinette on her date Friday night?”

Chat nearly lost his footing on the rail. “Uh-, I um… what?”

He had been completely prepared to hear out a full lecture of how unbelievably important it was to keep their identities a secret, but he wasn’t at all expecting that question.

“Why did you follow Marinette on her date Friday night?” she repeated, her tone more demanding.

Chat felt his tail curl loosely around one of his legs as he hesitated, not knowing how she wanted him respond. It wasn’t like she had any reason to be angry at him just for being at Marinette’s date.

“Wait, so, you’re not mad about Rena?” he asked, one cat ear falling back against his head in confusion.

Ladybug immediately uncrossed her arms as she stared back, clearly confused as well.

“Rena? Why would I be mad about Rena?” she asked with a dumbfounded expression. “I’m mad because you spied on a girl’s first date! That you spied on a girl’s date at all! What were you thinking!?”

Her words didn’t make any sense. By the time Ladybug had arrived to defeat the akuma with him that night, he’d already been out of costume for a few minutes. There was no way she could have seen him as Chat back when he was at the table with Alya. If anything, she would have seen Adrien.

“How- how did you even know I was there?”

“Because I’m Ladybug!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms up in exasperation. “I know things!”

She made an extremely fair point.

“Look, LB, I wasn’t there to spy on her, I was there to protect her,” he explained.

“Protect her? From what!?” Ladybug nearly yelled.

Chat took a few steps back. He could not for the life of him understand why she was getting so upset about this, and he couldn’t help but think about how it would only get worse when he told her about Alya.

“Y-Yeah?” he sputtered. “That Luka guy had something off about him. I was there so I could step in if he tried anything stupid.”

He watched as she stared at him in disbelief while she processed his words, her expression getting more pissed off by the second. At this point, Chat was starting to get a tad ticked off as well. He had only been there to help Marinette, and yet Ladybug was acting as if he had done something bad to her instead.

“I really don’t understand why you’re upset. Isn’t it our job to protect people?” he asked, trying his best to keep his voice calm.

“Marinette doesn’t need your protection! She can handle herself just fine without you!” she yelled back, her bright eyes flashing wildly against the deep navy blue of the sky.

Alya had said the same thing to him before too, back when he had first gone to her about this in the library. Chat wasn’t an idiot, he knew that Marinette could have a backbone when she wanted to. But still, every time he looked at her he was filled with that same urge to not let anyone else get close enough to hurt her.

“Ladybug, please, I was only trying to help.”

Though she was clearly angry, there was something else in her expression that he couldn’t quite read. It almost seemed like she was hurt, or perhaps even offended, which only served to confuse him further.

“Chat that’s not helping, and Luka is not a bad guy!” she shouted. “Seriously please don’t follow me again the next time I have a date!”

All of a sudden time seemed to slow down until it stopped altogether and he was unable to move. The words she’d just spoken replayed themselves over and over in his head, but his mind refused to make sense of them. It refused to make sense of anything. He watched helplessly as she paled and covered her mouth with both of her small hands, but he remained stuck, unable to make even his lips move. Then, in the blink of an eye, she vanished into the night sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeeehooo we are almost there folks!! thank u all so much for sticking through my first ever fic, its been coolio! I'll have the final chapter posted next Friday!
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


	9. Delicate

“Tikki what have I done,” Marinette groaned from beneath the pillow covering her face. For the last half hour she’d been laying flat on her back atop her futon with the pillow blocking her view of the world, and her arms hanging down uselessly on both sides of her.

Though she couldn’t see her kwami, she could hear her nibbling away at a plate of cookies somewhere over on her desk.

“Tikki this is serious!” Marinette called out again.

And it really was. For so long she had gone to such extreme measures to make sure that her identity remained a secret, for fear that it would severely endanger anyone who knew. Most of all, she was worried about Chat’s safety. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, she trusted him more than anyone, but the fear that he would be taken advantage of for knowing her identity was just too great.

But now he did know, and there was no turning back time to change that. Perhaps she could have said something to fix it back on the Eiffel Tower, but instead she’d only run away like a coward.

However, her quick exit was not only due to fear, but also because of how horribly embarrassed she’d been. And probably would be for the rest of her life. Now he was going to know that all the times he’d hung out with Marinette, he’d really still been hanging out with her. Like at the rooftop dinner. He was going to know that she hadn’t rejected his invitation after all, and the thought of him knowing that is what made her keep the pillow glued to her face.

As far as her date with Luka went, at least she was now positive that he hadn’t known her identity when he was following her. The shock on his face a bit ago was proof enough. Even though it was kind of nice knowing that he really had developed a crush on her twice, it was mortifying to think that now he would realize it himself too.

“Come on Marinette, it’s not that bad,” Tikki spoke up from somewhere over to her right.

“Are you kidding? He _knows_ Tikki _.”_

Her kwami giggled back at her, but Marinette was far too caught up in her whirlpool of thoughts to be in any way offended.

“But,” Marinette continued, “what if Hawk Moth finds out that he knows and threatens him or something?”

“Marinette,” Tikki said, her voice turning serious, “you know that no matter what, Chat would never betray you. Like Master Fu said, you two have to trust each other. If anything, now you will become even stronger together!”

“Yeah, but…” Marinette started, though she trailed off unsure of what she actually wanted to say. Tikki was right, Chat would never betray her, and she knew that out of all people, there was no one who would be able to stand up to Hawk Moth better than him.

“And besides,” the kwami continued, “you’ve known Rena Rouge’s and Carapace’s identity for a long time, and Hawk Moth hasn’t come after you for the information at all. It is very likely that he already figures you and Chat know each other’s identity, so there is nothing to worry about.”

Marinette let out a deep sigh into her pillow.

“I guess you’re right,” she grumbled. “Maybe this isn’t _completely_ terrible.”

“That’s the spirit!” the kwami cheered. “Now all that’s left is for you to learn his real identity too!”

Immediately after registering her kwami’s words, Marinette used both hands to squish the pillow further into her face. She’d been so busy worrying about how revealing herself would affect them, that she hadn’t even considered the idea of learning his identity in return.

“Ugh, this is a disaster Tikki,” she whined.

 Before the kwami could respond, a voice rang out from the floor below them.

 _"Marinette your friend is here to see you, can I send them up?”_ her mother asked loudly from the living room.

It was most likely Alya coming over to “study” which really meant talking about her newest updates for the Ladyblog. Marinette hadn’t checked her phone to see if she’d gotten any texts from her friend since she’d come back home, but it wasn’t unheard of for her to just pop over sometimes anyway.

“ _Alright,_ ” Marinette called back down just as loudly.

Hopefully listening to one of her friend’s endless rants would help distract her from overthinking about Chat. But then again, most of those rants were actually about that very cat. Maybe instead of answering, she should have just pretended to be asleep. She had already sealed her fate though, and the familiar sound of someone climbing up the stairs to her room reached her ears, shortly followed by a soft knock against her trapdoor.

“Yeah, come in Alya,” she called out, though she made no effort to remove the pillow from her face. She knew it wouldn’t matter to Alya, it probably looked like she just had a headache.

However, her blood ran cold when she heard someone clear their throat. Someone who was definitely _not_ Alya.

“Actually, um, it’s me.”

With the pillow still blocking her view, she could have sworn that it almost sounded like the voice of her partner who she’d left behind on the Eiffel Tower. If it really was, that would mean he was very likely untransformed, and if Marinette moved the pillow, then she might actually learn his identity. That was simply too much for her brain to even begin processing right now, but he was literally standing in her room, so really what choice did she have?

There was also still the possibility that in all of her stressing over said superhero, she had simply thought she’d heard Chat’s voice when in reality it was someone else entirely. What other boy would show up at her house when the sun had already gone down though?

Unfortunately, there was only one way to find out.

Slowly, Marinette lowered the pillow from her face and peeked at the person standing across the room. The moment she saw their face, she squeaked and sat up in a flash, sending the pillow flying in the process.

“A-Adrien!?”

It certainly wasn’t Chat, but somehow this was worse. It was good of course, it was Adrien, everything about Adrien was good, but it was the last person she’d ever expected to show up unannounced, and she had not had any chance to mentally prepare herself. But there he was, beautiful golden hair and all, standing before her with one hand rubbing the back of his neck while he gazed at her. Looking down, Marinette remembered that she was already wearing her pajamas, which tonight, happened to consist of only a small pink polka-dotted tank top and matching shorts. Her hair wasn’t even in its pigtails anymore, she’d taken those out as soon as she’d landed back in her room.

“Why- wher- I mean uh, what are you doing here? In my bedroom? I mean, not that I’m objecting, I just mean I, uh, yeah.” She blushed furiously as she watched him chuckle softly. She had to be dreaming, this really truly must be a dream. There was no other explanation for him being here.

“Well, I actually needed to talk to you about something and it couldn’t really wait, so I figured coming over would be best. I didn’t mean to intrude though, I’m sorry.”

Sitting up straighter, she bent her legs and tucked them beside her, all while trying to calm the burning heat in her cheeks. She had no idea what could possibly be so urgent that he needed to actually come here to talk with her about, but she didn’t let herself even try and guess, because if she did, she would probably just end up passing out.

“No no, really it’s fine,” she assured him with her hands flailing out in her front of her. “I just, I’ve had a really, um, weird day, and I wasn’t expecting you, that’s all.”

She felt her heart pounding loudly in her chest as she watched him smile and take a few steps closer to her.

“Oh, well in that case I’ll be sure to text you a heads up next time, I promise.”

_Next time. He said there’s going to be a next time._

Marinette forgot how to form words as she watched him walk all the way up to the end of her futon.

“May I?” he asked, nodding his head towards it while keeping his eyes focused on her.

At her nod he sat down, extending one arm down beside himself to lean on so he could face her.

The whole situation felt so surreal. For years she had dreamed that he would be here in her room, sitting with her and telling her things that were only intended for her ears, and now that he really was, she what? Became a babbling idiot? No, she needed to try harder than she ever had in her life to keep her cool. She could do this.

“S-So, what it is it you wanted to, um, talk about?” she asked while leaning over to pick up her pillow from where it had fallen on the floor before placing it in her lap. When she looked back up to the boy sitting in front of her, she found him watching her carefully. It took only a moment for her to lose herself in his eyes again, much like she had back at the restaurant a few days ago. Only now, there were no akumas or abandoned dates to disrupt them.

“Well, I came here to tell you something that I’ve wanted to tell you for a really long time,” he explained nervously.

Marinette felt like her entire body was on fire, though she held his gaze, oblivious to how tightly her hands were gripping the pillow in her lap.

“It’s something that I’ve rehearsed a lot,” he continued, “but right now I’m kind of blanking on all of it.” He paused for a moment to rub the back of his neck with his free hand and take in a deep breath, causing Marinette’s stomach to flutter in anticipation. “Basically, I know you said that you never wanted me to tell you this, and I would never want to disrespect your wishes, but the situation has changed now, a-and I think I need to.”

Her confusion at his words brought her out of the usual daze she fell into whenever she was around him, and she was finally able to steady her own breathing. To an extent. Whatever he was talking about was obviously very important, and at first she’d almost thought he was about to confess his love to her or something crazy like that, but now it was clear that she had only been getting ahead of herself. His words only left her puzzled. She couldn’t ever recall asking him _not_ to tell her something.

“I just, I…” he tried to explain, looking to her almost desperately.

Marinette felt her silly stuttering self truly fade away as her Ladybug confidence began to take over. She didn’t know what he was trying to say, but he looked so torn, like nothing she’d ever seen of him before, and she wanted to be there for him.

“It’s okay Adrien, whatever it is, you can tell me,” she said, slowly reaching out to place her hand on top of his where it was spread out flat against cushion. She knew it was probably the riskiest thing she’d ever done concerning him, but a moment later she watched in shock as he flipped his hand over beneath hers and laced their fingers together. Butterflies swarmed inside of her as he squeezed her hand lightly.

After a few moments, she managed to lift her gaze up from their intertwined fingers and stared at him in wonder while she waited for him to speak.  

“I’m sorry for following you on your date with Luka. It was wrong of me to do, and you are absolutely right that you’re fully capable of protecting yourself. Especially against just one guy.”

Her mouth parted slightly as her eyebrows drew together and her head tilted to the side.

“I don’t understand, you didn’t-” Marinette started, but then she froze.

If not for the feeling of his palm against hers, she would have been positive now that she was dreaming. But his hand indeed held hers, and she was very, very much awake.

As if a curtain in front of her eyes had been pulled back for the very first time, she truly took in the boy before her. His hand felt so warm, now that it was no longer covered by a glove. And his thumb, which moved in tiny circles against her skin, was so delicate now that it was no longer tipped with a claw.

But his eyes, though they no longer resembled a cat’s, were the same beautiful green that made her feel safe more than anything else in the world.

She knew she should probably say something, but all she could do was stare into them.

After a few minutes of silence, he spoke up in a quiet voice. 

“You ran away so quickly earlier, that I never got to give you the proper apology you deserve. I’m so sorry, My Lady.”

It took Marinette another few seconds after hearing the familiar nickname before she finally blinked a few times and looked down into her lap. The very idea that Adrien was apologizing to her because he’d been so jealous that he’d followed her the one time she’d gone out with someone else, was something she could barely begin to wrap her mind around. Let alone the idea that Adrien was _in love with her_. And that he had been for a long time.

On the other hand, she had grown to think of Chat like he was her other half. He simply completed her in a way that no else did. It seemed almost too good to be true that the boy whose pictures covered her walls, and the boy who she swung over the city streets with were one and the same.

Wait.

The pictures.

She looked back up to find that just as she had feared, he’d finally noticed them. In fact, he was gaping at them.

Though a moment later his lips formed one of those smirks she knew all too well.

“Shut up!” she blurted, using her free hand to smack him with the pillow from her lap.

Heat consumed her cheeks once again, though this time due to sheer mortification rather than nerves, and she watched him burst into laughter.

“Come on, I didn’t even say anything,” he giggled, leaning away from her as she raised the pillow again.

“But you were thinking it!” she countered, trying her best to hold her glare against his horribly contagious laughter.  

“Oh yeah, definitely. I mean that is a _lot_ of pictures. Do you still have the ones under your mattress by any chance?”

“Adrien!” she shrieked. Dropping the pillow to cover her face with her hand, she brought her knees up to her chest and her feet flat against the cushion, effectively curling herself into as much of a ball as possible. Ideally she wanted to use both of her hands to hide the tomato-red that she knew was covering her face, but he only held onto her other hand tighter.

A few seconds later though, she felt him let go of her hand followed by his weight shifting on the futon. For a moment she was almost afraid he would go inspecting her mattress for himself, so she peeked through her fingers to keep an eye him. She nearly choked on her breath when she found him crawling across the cushion towards her, until he sat right against her, side by side, with his back leaned against the short headboard behind her. Her eyes followed him the whole way, and before she could stop herself, she found herself scooting back until she rested against the headboard too.

“I can’t believe I didn’t realize it sooner,” he sighed, turning his head to look down at her. “I should have, it makes sense. The smartest, most beautiful girl in school being Paris’s one and only Ladybug.”

Her eyes widened as she looked up to him. It wasn’t like she hadn’t listened to him compliment her a million times before already, but suddenly hearing him say it without the mask was making her heart beat wildly out of control. Wordlessly, she leaned into him and buried her face in his chest, bringing one hand up to cling to his shirt. She was definitely hiding her face from him, but she was hiding in the safest place she knew.

It should have been awkward, this was _Adrien_ after all _,_ if Alya saw this she would probably go get her eyes rechecked. But at the same time, it was because it was him that it wasn’t awkward at all. She could feel the light movements of his chest as he breathed, and even through his shirt the heat of his skin warmed her cheek. It didn’t take long for him to wrap his arms around her, bringing one hand up to stroke through her hair. She imagined that this is probably what it felt like to be on a cloud.

“So,” he whispered against her ear, causing a shiver to run down her spine. “Does this mean I’m forgiven?”

“Mhm,” she mumbled into his shirt.

His heart began to beat faster then, and the thrum tickled her cheek.

“The next time you have a date with Luka, I promise I’ll steer clear.”

Marinette’s eyes went wide. As soon as she’d realized it was really her partner who had come into her room, she’d forgotten all about Luka. It was alright though, she’d already told him this morning in the locker room that although their date had been nice, she would rather they just be friends.

Adjusting herself in Adrien’s arms, she leaned back just enough so that she could lift her head to see his face.

“I... I’m not going on another date with him.”

His eyebrows drew together in confusion, though his eyes seemed to suddenly sparkle. “But, I thought…”

“Chaton,” she breathed, her gaze locked in his.

So many times before had he confessed his love to her, that now she felt it was only fair for her to be honest in return. Besides, if she didn’t do it now, she doubted she would be able to gather up the courage again any time soon.

She had to do it now.

“T-The moment I saw you back in the hallway at the restaurant, I knew that I would never be able to fall for Luka, that I would never be able to fall for anyone, in the same way that I’ve fallen so deeply for you.”

A tingling sensation pooled in her stomach as she spoke, nearly causing her to choke on the end of her sentence.

She felt in a sudden precise clarity as he traced the hand forward that had been lightly stroking her head until he was cupping her cheek, and his fingertips left behind trails of sparks across her skin. Her gaze dipped down from his eyes to his lips, only for a moment, but a moment was all it took to suddenly it feel as though a magnet were drawing her towards him. Her breath escaped her as she quickly realized he was being drawn in too. His lips met hers halfway, and the tingling sensation spiked throughout her whole body as he kissed her gently, the feeling of his lips against hers much softer than she could have ever imagined.  

After a few moments she pulled away and glanced up to his eyes, only to have her heart do flips in her chest when she saw the way he was looking back at her. Moving her gaze down to his flushed cheeks, and then to his smile, she thought he was most beautiful person she’d ever seen. An overwhelming need to be closer to him again consumed her, and this time she used both of her hands to cup his face as she pulled him back down to her, kissing him deeply.

She had known all along what her heart wanted. It seemed silly now to have ever tried to convince herself otherwise. She swore to herself right then that she would never, ever ignore her heart again.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can anyone say?? cheese ????
> 
> lol sooo thats it, thats my story, thanks for reading!! I had a lot of fun writing this and I learned a lot along the way!
> 
> As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I now have a new ml fic im writing now called "Unsteady Bloom" so u can check that out if u want!! its very uh, different, from this one lmao but who doesnt love some good ol' angst amirite
> 
> Thanks again for reading thru till the end!!


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